


Furry Riot

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Furries, Gay Romance, Humor, Love, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-04-10 14:31:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4395506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aristotle DuCane is having a bad day. Then it just gets plain weird, when he inadvertently runs over a giant teddy bear. What kind of weirdness has he fallen into?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He ran. His heart thundered in his chest, and his breath sawed in his throat. He was already tired; this costume weighed a ton. But he had to get away! If the cops arrested him, he’d lose his job. The pre-school would never continue to employ a teacher who’d been arrested, let alone one who was arrested while wearing what he was wearing…so he ran. His feet flapped on the sidewalk, and he made little sounds of distress in the back of his throat. He hadn’t meant to start a riot, he really hadn’t…

Curse that Josh! How could he DO that?! And with a damn unicorn?! His heart was breaking inside of him. His whole life had fallen apart when he’d opened the door of that little closet back at the convention center. Up until now, he’d had it all. A job he loved, a boyfriend ditto; and a hobby/kink that he got to indulge in, because his boyfriend liked it too. In fact, that’s how he’d first met Josh. At the last convention the year before. It had been such a relief to find someone who was into what he was, a guy he found attractive and really liked. He’d thought everything was falling into place.

A strangled sob burst from his throat at this thought. Tears welled in his eyes. He’d just been fooling himself. And now his life was falling apart, and his heart was broken. All because he’d wanted to go home a bit early, and had gone looking for his absent boyfriend. Now he was a fugitive in fur, running down the street he knew not where, half-blind from tears and with snot running down his chin inside the costume head. Oh, God!

He was so distraught and scared that he forgot to look where he was going. Not that he could see that well anyway, between the poor street lighting and the not-so-great eyeholes in this costume. So he wasn’t even aware that he’d run out into the street, until bright lights blinded him and something huge plowed into him and threw him up in the air like a very strange bird, before he bounced down onto the tarmac and slid down the street in a tangle of limbs…

 

Aristotle DuCane had had a very bad day. A deal he’d spent weeks negotiating had gone south, and his boss was decidedly not happy with him. He didn’t think that he’d be fired, but you could never tell with Peter Hobbs. The man was capricious, and when he was this angry and annoyed he might just stop being rational and fire the person he saw as responsible for the lost deal. No matter how much money that Aristotle had made for him in the past, all of that wouldn’t mean a thing if Peter decided to can him in a fit of pique. 

To top his shitty day off, his date had canceled at the last minute. This was a guy that he’d been angling to get a date with for longer than he’d been working on the NorthCorp deal; and now he’d lost both of them in the same day. David Pierce hadn’t even come up with that convincing a lie to get out of the date. Clearly he wasn’t that interested in Aristotle. That had been a blow to his ego. So now he was feeling angry, low, and worried. A nasty combination of emotions, and one he wasn’t enjoying at all. 

 

He shouldn’t have been checking his text messages, but he had a faint hope that David might have changed his mind. Which was utterly pathetic, but that’s how low he’d fallen after this horrible, horrible day. So he was glancing down at his cell phone’s screen when the giant teddy bear ran out into the street in front of his car.

He had no chance to hit the brakes. In horror, he w3atched as the bear flew up into the air and then came down again, blousing on the surface of the road and lying on its back in a tangle of furry, waving limbs. Aristotle blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Was he drunk or something? No, he hadn’t had more than a glass of wine with his dinner just now. Maybe somebody had slipped a drug into his wine, though, because a giant teddy bear was NOT lying in the middle of the road in front of his car, waving its arms and legs like a broken-backed beetle. The bear even had a big red bow tied around its neck. Okay, he was losing his mind. Wow, had his day really been that bad?

He sat there for God knows how long, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his headlights were picking out the giant form of a teddy bear lying in the road in front of his car. But finally he had to move, because the bear was clearly unable to right itself. And there had to be somebody in that costume. They might have been hurt by Aristotle’s car, and part of it was his fault for not paying attention where he was going. So he got out of his car and hurried over to the teddy bear, feeling like he was trapped in the Twilight Zone. How could this actually be happening? How could he tell anyone about this? Hey, guys, last night I ran smack dab into Winnie-the-Pooh. They’d think he was insane.

The giant bear was making low noises, a series of grunts and moans and gasps. “Are you all right?” Aristotle asked, kneeling down next to the teddy bear and trying to find someplace to grasp the costume to help the person inside of it sit up. 

“Oh, oh, oh,” he heard. 

He put his hand on the bear’s back and levered it up into a sitting position. “Are you all right?” he repeated. “Is anything broken?”

A whimper. “I don’t think so,” a voice said in muffled tones from inside the head. “Could you help me get this off?” the paws lifted to tap at the head of the teddy bear costume.

“Sure,” Aristotle grasped it and figured out how to pull the head off of the costume. He revealed a narrow, high-cheekbones face covered in sweat and beet red, and a pair of dazed brown eyes. Tousled hair, also darkened by sweat, fell over the man’s forehead. “I think I should take you to the hospital,” a worried Aristotle said. “Make sure you’re all right. I’ll pay for everything, I promise.”

Panic filled the brown eyes. “No!” the man cried in horror. “You can’t do that!”

“Why not?” Aristotle demanded. “There could be something seriously wrong with you. I hit you pretty hard. You could have broken bone’s, internal bleeding…”

“If the cops hear that a guy in a costume shows up at the hospital, they’ll come and arrest me,” he explained.

“For what? It’s not illegal to run around in a teddy bear costume,” Aristotle said. “It isn’t, is it?”

“No, no, it’s not the costume,” the man said, weaving a paw in the air in distress. “It’s because I started a riot.”

Silence. Then: “Would you like to explain that?” Aristotle asked as calmly as he could manage. This whole situation was so surreal. 

“Well, uh…” the man paused, and his face got even redder. Aristotle realized that he was blushing. “See, I was at this furry convention, and I was looking for my boyfriend, and…things just got out of hand.”

Furry convention? What the hell is a furry convention?” Aristotle demanded with a frown.

More blushing. The guy was the color of an overripe tomato now. “Err…some people like to…uhh…dress up like animals. In costumes. It’s...ummm…a…sexual kink,” the man mumbled, staring at the ground as though fascinated by it. 

“Oh, my God,” Aristotle said in disbelief. “Really?”

A nod of the head. “It’s all harmless, really,” he said quickly. “I mean, most of the time it is. Until I got mad at my boyfriend, and started hitting him with the basket of flowers I was holding, and screaming at him, and he yelled back and tried to bat the basket out of my hands, and the unicorn started screaming too, and then lots of other people got into it, and people started fighting because they were panicking, and a riot started, and then the cops came, and I had to run because I CANNOT be arrested. If I get arrested, I’ll be fired.”

Aristotle listened to this recital in appalled fascination. “Why would you be fired? For wearing a costume?” He said incredulously.

“No, for starting the riot. AND for wearing the costume. I’m a pre-school teacher. Teachers can’t get in trouble with the law. Also, it would be bad if the school found out I was a pervert who likes to wear furry animal costumes as part of my sex life. So I had to get out of there. And I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going well enough, which is why I ran out into the road and got hit by you.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense,” a befuddled Aristotle said slowly. “But how about I help you out of the costume and then take you to the hospital? You really need to go. You could be badly hurt. It wouldn’t sit well on my conscience just to leave you here like this, especially if something happens to you. Please, let me take you to the hospital.”

“All right. Help me out of the costume. It closes in the back. My boyfriend usually helps me out of it,” he added, then closed his eyes as a few tears welled under his lids. “Bastard,” he went on dully. 

“I’m sorry about your boyfriend,” Aristotle said as he found the closings on the back of the costume and began to undo them. “He was cheating on you?”

A miserable nod. “With a unicorn, in a janitor’s closet at the convention center. Conveniently, he had an opening in the front of his dog costume to help him pee. He’d just opened it and pulled out his dick, then stuck it in the unicorn. The unicorn had an opening in the back for the same thing, only to poop through. Or take my boyfriend’s dick up his ass,” he paused, glancing sideways at Aristotle. “Sorry to talk about this,” he said, “I shouldn’t in front of a straight guy.”

“Mmmm,” Aristotle murmured, not bothering to point out that he was gay. Now didn’t seem like the time. He managed to get the guy out of the teddy bear costume, pushing and pulling as gently as he could in case the guy was hurt. He revealed a lithely muscular form dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He heard a sound of pain and stopped, worried. “Where does it hurt?” he asked anxiously.

“Just on my side. I think it’s only bruises, because this costume’s so heavily padded that it protected me pretty well when your car hit me.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m still taking you to the hospital,” Aristotle helped him to his feet, and guided him toward his car. He opened the passenger side door and coaxed the guy into the seat. 

“Wait, my costume!” the man wailed. “You have to bring it with us! It was really expensive to make,” he explained, his eyes anxious.

“Sure, sure. I’ll stick it in the trunk,” Aristotle assured him. The man subsided, looking relieved.

Aristotle stuffed the awkward bear costume into his trunk with a grimace, then got behind the wheel. His day had just gotten weird, on top of how bad it had been. Really weird. He wondered what other odd things might happen tonight. Whatever they were, they couldn’t be as strange as this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle acquires a houseguest.

The emergency room at the hospital was crowded. Apparently there’d been a multiple car pile-up on the freeway, and the worst off of the victims were being attended to first. So the waiting room was crowded with people who’d only sustained minor injuries, waiting their turn to be treated.   
The man sitting beside Aristotle in the uncomfortable plastic chair sighed. 

“You should just take me home,” he said softly. “We could be here ‘til the end of time.”

He had to agree, but he still frowned. “I want to make sure you’re all right,” he said aloud.

“I think if I’d been bad hurt, we’d know it already,” the other man pointed out, stretching out his jeans clad legs and shifting to try to find at least one comfortable position. 

He also agreed with this statement, but Aristotle didn’t want to leave until they’d seen a doctor. What if the man had slow internal bleeding that wouldn’t show up until hours later? If he was home alone, he might collapse before he could call 9-1-1 and get help. He frowned. “Okay,” he said. “I’m willing to leave now, on one condition.”

The brown eyes came to rest on his face. “What?”

“You come to my place for the night. I’m not propositioning you,” Aristotle added, holding up a hand. “I just want to keep an eye on you in case there is something wrong. You shouldn’t be alone tonight.”

The man smiled wryly. “I didn’t think a straight guy was propositioning me,” he assured Aristotle, who kept silent once again about his sexual orientation. “And you’re right, I’d rather not be alone tonight. Not because I’m worried I have internal injuries, but because…” he trailed off, and moisture gathered in his eyes. “Because…” 

“Please don’t cry,” Aristotle begged as he sniffled. “I can’t stand it when people cry.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, wiping ineffectually at his eyes. “It’s just…I can’t believe Josh did that to me. I thought he was the one, you know? That we’d spent the rest of our lives together.”

“Wearing furry costumes forever after?” Aristotle muttered dryly, and the other man heard him. He giggled, an unexpected and charming sound. 

“Maybe,” he said coyly. “Anyway, it’s so nice of you to let me stay at your place. Unless you’re an axe murderer, in which case I’m in real trouble.”

“I can’t reassure you that I’m not an axe murderer, since that’s exactly what an axe murderer WOULD say,” Aristotle remarked. 

“That’s all right. I don’t believe a guy as nice as you is an axe murderer. And if you kill me in my sleep, well…that would just be par for the course for this day, wouldn’t you say?”

Thinking of his own rotten day, Aristotle had to agree. “All right. Let’s get out of here, then.” He paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. “If you’re going to sleep in my guest bedroom, I think I should know your name.”

“Oh. It’s Jonah. Jonah Fairfax.”

As he rose to his feet, glad to be out of the uncomfortable chair, Aristotle replied: “And my name is Aristotle. Aristotle DuCane.”

Jonah blinked. “Aristotle? That’s an interesting name. Did your parents like ancient philosophers?”

“Yes,” Aristotle replied as they left the emergency room behind, grateful to be away from the sights and sounds of human suffering. “They’re both professors. At least they didn’t name me Plato. Or Socrates. I’ll take Aristotle.”

“I would, too,” Jonah admitted with a grin, as they walked toward Aristotle’s car together. 

“Do you have a car you have to worry about? Did you leave it back at the convention center?” Aristotle thought to ask as he started his engine.

“No. Josh and I took a cab to the convention center, and changed into our costumes in the bathrooms there. Trying to find a parking space is an exercise in futility at one of those things.”

“A furry convention,” Aristotle said, shaking his head. “I still have trouble wrapping my head around it. What do you guys get out of dressing in big furry costumes, anyway?”

Jonah turned a bit red in the lights of the hospital parking lot, as Aristotle backed carefully out of the space. “I don’t know,” he said helplessly. Just DO. It’s like if you get off on being spanked, or have a foot fetish, or whatever. There’s almost never a really good explanation for why that turns you on; it just DOES. That’s one of the reasons I almost never tell anybody I know about my kink. They don’t get it, and I got tired of all of the strange looks and the condescending way people talk to you after you tell them. Like they’re better because they’re ‘normal’, and you’re just a weird freak who likes to dress up as a teddy bear to get off.”

“That’s another thing. Why a teddy bear?” Aristotle asked curiously as he pulled out of the parking lot and turned left. 

“Oh, I just love teddy bears. I collect them,” Jonah said enthusiastically. “And of course I work with little kids, and they all love teddy bears, too. Maybe I’m just a little kid at heart, I guess.”

“A little kid who gets off by dressing as a teddy bear and having sex,” Aristotle remarked ironically.

“Well, a very kinky little kid,” Jonah said with as much dignity as he could muster. 

Aristotle found himself laughing. What a weird day this had been! “I’ll agree with that,” he said aloud. “But everybody’s weird in their own way. Who am I to judge?”

Jonah gave him an awed look. “Nobody’s ever said that to me before,” he replied. “Thank you so much.”

Aristotle found himself feeling sorry for his passenger. What must it be like to have a perfectly harmless but weird sexual kink that made other people regard you as a freak? That, on top of being gay, and all the problems inherent with that…this poor guy must have a hard life sometimes. “It’s no problem,” he remarked.” I really do think it’s none of my business what you do in your personal life. If more people thought that way, we’d have far less problems in the world,” he added.

“I agree,” Jonah said fervently. “Why do people care about our sex lives, anyway? Is it because they’re not getting it at home?”

Aristotle snorted. “Probably,” he said dryly. 

“So, this is my apartment,” Aristotle said, leading the way through the door.   
Jonah made a sound of awe as he stared wide-eyed at the huge space with its antique furniture and waxed hardwood floors. “Oh, my God! You’re rich! I should have pretended to be hurt so I could sue you!” he exclaimed, craning his neck to stare around the apartment.

Aristotle’s lips twitched. “Maybe you should have,” he agreed. “But it’s too late now. Come on. I’ll get you set up in the guest bedroom for the night.”

Jonah trailed after him down the short hallway that had the master bedroom on one side, and the smaller guest bedroom on the other. He opened the door, revealing a cozy room with a lovely quilt spread over the bed. The quilt had been a present from his grandmother as a housewarming gift, but he hadn’t thought it would go well with his sleekly modern bed and its black metal frame. So he’d bought a sleigh bed out of a catalogue for the guest room, and made it up with the quilt. Jonah gasped when he saw the bed. “Oh, what a beautiful quilt!”

“Yes. My grandmother made it for me,” Aristotle told him as Jonah went over to run a hand across the stylized flowers and birds rioting across the quilt top. 

“I worry about sleeping under it. I’m afraid I’ll get it dirty or something,” Jonah said doubtfully.

Aristotle snorted. “Unless you eat pudding in bed or something, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he pointed out in faint amusement. “And Gran would appreciate that somebody’s using it. I don’t have too many guests stay here, so the bed doesn’t get used that often.”

“Well, if you say so…this bed is wonderful. I can’t wait to sleep in it,” Jonah said, looking the sleigh bed over. As though to back up his statement, a large yawn suddenly split his jaw nearly in two. “Scuse me,” he mumbled childishly.

“Hey, you’ve had a hard day. I understand. You’re worn out. Why don’t you take a shower in the bathroom, which is right down here,” Aristotle stepped out into the hall and led the way to the door of the bathroom. “And then climb into bed? You’ll never fit into my clothes, so I guess you’ll have to sleep naked…”

He had a sudden vision of Jonah sleeping naked under his grandmother’s quilt, and his body unexpectedly became aroused at the thought. He blinked, but Jonah was only nodding. “Just don’t tell your grandma that you let someone sleep under her quilt naked,” he told Aristotle. 

“I won’t,” he replied, bemused. What had that been? Jonah wasn’t really his type at all. And then there was the furry kink…

 

Jonah smiled at him, and his heart did a peculiar little flip that freaked him the hell out. What was happening here?! Sure, that was a dazzling smile. Yeah, it made his eyes bright and lit up his whole face. Okay, he was suddenly utterly adorable, despite the drying tear tracks and the smudge of dirt on one cheekbone. But that shouldn’t make him want to kiss those smiling lips, and see what they tasted like…

“Anyway, I’ll just take a shower. Thanks again for taking me in in my time of need, Aristotle,” Jonah told him.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, it’s no problem at all, Jonah. And you should call me Ari,” he added, then froze. What was he doing?! He didn’t need to be any MORE intimate with the guy who for some strange reason was pushing all of his buttons! 

“Ari,” Jonah said softly, and the sound of it made butterflies start fluttering in the pit of Aristotle’s stomach. “You’re a really great guy, Ari. I appreciate this so much. I just don’t…want to be alone, not tonight…”

“I can see why you wouldn’t,” Aristotle said when he could speak again. “If I found my boyfriend cheating on me, I wouldn’t want ot be alone either.”  
Jonah laughed. “Since you’ll never have to worry about having your boyfriend cheat on you,” he began.

Aristotle interrupted him. “I should have told you this before, but…I’m gay, Jonah. I was on my way home after a guy I really liked stood me up on a date when I hit you.”

Jonah looked startled. “You’re gay?! Really?” His eyes ran over Aristotle, which made him feel hot under the collar. 

“Yes, really,” he said hoarsely.

“Well, that’s great. So you really can commiserate with me. And YOU got stood up? The guy must be an idiot.”

Aristotle felt warmth flow him. “Thanks for saying that. My ego could use the boost.”

Jonah shook his head. “He really is an idiot, passing you up. Anyway, I’ll take that shower now. Goodnight, Ari.”

“Goodnight, Jonah,” he said, and watched the other man walk into the bathroom and shut the door after him. He shook his head in bemusement. This evening just kept getting stranger and stranger…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonah has a nightmare, and Aristotle has a long, sleepless night...

Aristotle came awake abruptly as a loud cry rang through his apartment. He jerked upright, looking around wildly, his sleep-fogged brain a morass of confusion and fear. Then he remembered his guest, and realized that the cry must have come from the gust bedroom. He struggled out of bed, fighting off the grip of his covers, swearing under his breath as his limbs flailed around in an uncoordinated manner. He wasn’t at his best when he’d just woken up normally, let alone when he’d been brought out of a deep sleep by a sudden scream. 

He staggered out of his room and across the hall to the door of the guest bedroom. He opened the door, calling out: “Jonah? Are you okay?”  
No answer. He saw a form twisting and writhing under his grandmother’s quilt, and another horrible cry was wrenched out of Jonah’s throat.   
Apparently he was having a terrible nightmare, and wasn’t awake at all. 

Aristotle wondered if he should wake Jonah up. Wouldn’t that be dangerous? Oh, wait, that was sleepwalkers. He went over to the bed and leaned over, reaching out to grip Jonah’s shoulder. “Jonah! Wake up!” he barked, shaking the thin shoulder with his hand. 

Another cry, this one frightened as Jonah’s eyes flew open and he rolled sideways to get away from the person leaning over his bed. He fell off the side, crying out again as he hit the floor, and scooting away on his ass as fast as he could. Clearly he thought in his sleep muddled brain that he was being attacked. Little cries fell from his throat. He looked so terrified that Aristotle felt awful.

He backed away from the bed and circled around it slowly, his hands up in the air. “It’s me, Jonah,” he said as soothingly as he could. “The guy who hit you with his car earlier when you were running around in your furry costume. Aristotle. You were sleeping in my guest bedroom. I heard you screaming - I realized you must have been having a nightmare. I came in here to wake you up from it. I won’t hurt you, I swear. I was just worried about you.”

His calm, logical words made Jonah stop scooting across the floor. He sniffled. “Ari?” he whispered.

Okay, he really liked being called Ari by Jonah. He grimaced at himself as he replied softly: “Yes, Jonah. It’s me. You’re all right.”

Jonah shuddered, a long sigh falling from his lips. “Oh. Oh. I was…” his eyes filled with tears. “I was running and running, and then there were really bright lights, and I was flying through the air…I was so scared…”

Aristotle grimaced again as he realized that Jonah had been having a nightmare about the accident that had happened only a few hours earlier, when he’d hit Jonah with his car. No matter that it wasn’t totally his fault; he still felt awful. “I’m sorry, Jonah,” he said mournfully. 

Jonah shook his head, wobbling as he pushed himself to his knees. “It’s not your fault, Ari. It really isn’t. I ran out into the road without looking where I was going. But I was so scared…” he repeated, his voice wavering.

Aristotle still felt terrible. “Would it be better,” he began hesitantly, “If you came and slept with me tonight?”

Jonah blinked up at him. “Slept…with you?” he said, sounding a bit wary.  
Aristotle sighed. “I don’t mean have sex with me. You could just sleep in my bed. If you want,” he added.

Jonah’s lower lip began to quiver, and his eyes shone with suppressed tears. Aristotle felt like he’d been punched in the chest. Those big eyes were getting to him. “Oh, I…yes,” he wavered. “I don’t want…to be alone. I’m used to sleeping with somebody else, and now…” a sob choked him up as he remembered his boyfriend’s perfidy. 

Aristotle went over and held out his hand. “Come on. You can sleep with me.” he pulled Jonah to his feet easily. 

He held Jonah’s hand as he led him to his bedroom. He told himself that it was necessary to make Jonah feel better. He pulled the docile man over to his bed and turned back the covers on the side across from where he slept. “Get in,” he said gently. “Lay down. It’ll all be better in the morning, I’m sure.”

“You’re so kind, Ari,” Jonah said softly, smiling at him through his tears. 

Aristotle wanted desperately to kiss that smile. Instead, he cleared his throat awkwardly as he watched Jonah climb into his bed and lay down on his side. He covered Jonah with the blankets and went around to get back into his side of the bed. 

He could feel the warmth of Jonah’s body right across from him, and before he could think about whether he wanted to roll toward it or not, he suddenly found a leanly muscular body pressed against his right side. He stifled a gasp as Jonah set a hand on his chest. “I’m sorry, Ari,” Jonah whispered to him. “I just need to touch you. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” he said hoarsely, trying to ignore the heat running through his body at the touch of Jonah’s body against his, and the hand that seemed to be burning into his bare chest(he only wore sleep pants to bed). Jonah sighed and cuddled closer, snuggling up against Aristotle and promptly falling back asleep. His soft breathing rang in Aristotle’s ears as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling, tense and rigid as he struggled to keep himself still. He wanted nothing more than to turn on his side and cup the back of Jonah’s head as he plundered that sweet, smiling mouth for his own satisfaction. He groaned silently. This was bad. He shouldn’t be attracted to Jonah Fairfax. The guy seriously wasn’t his type. At all. And the furry kink seemed really strange. But try telling his body that he wasn’t attracted to Jonah’s type or somebody who wore a teddy bear costume to help him get off. It didn’t care. In the least. He flung an arm over his eyes, and prepared himself for a long, sleepless night with Jonah draped half over him. This was going to be hellish. 

 

He was very, very tired by the time that the sun began to filter through the blinds. He’d fallen asleep a few time, dozing, but each time Jonah had moved or snuggled closer or breathed on his neck, and suddenly he’d been wide awake again. His body ached, not just from a lack of sleep but from prolonged, sustained arousal. He carefully removed Jonah’s arm from across his chest, and wiggled slowly out of bed. He staggered into the bathroom and jacked off into the toilet, groaning low in his throat as he imagined that it was Jonah’s long-fingered hand cupping his cock rather than his own. He closed his eyes and panted heavily, the aftershocks of his orgasm flowing through him. 

Finally he straightened up and padded back into the bedroom. Jonah was still asleep, now on his back with his arms and legs flung across Aristotle’s bed. He found himself smiling at how cute the man was while stealing his entire mattress. He shook his head and went to get a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to wear. He got dressed and went into the kitchen to turn on his cappuccino machine. He definitely needed caffeine. 

He went and sat on his couch, yawning warily, and began to click his way through the cable channels on his flat screen TV in a desultory manner. Suddenly, he saw something that made him click back to a local news channel. He turned the sound up so he could hear what was being said. The well-coiffed and groomed talking head was saying: “Last night at the downtown convention center, a riot broke out at a convention that was taking place there. Details are sketchy, but the people attending the convention seem to have all been wearing some kind of costumes. Police were called in to break up the riot, which spilled out of the convention center and resulted in several broken windows and some damage to buildings around the center. Several arrests were made. We’ll have more as details emerge.”

Aristotle shook his head. Looked like it was a good idea for Jonah to have bolted last night. If he’d been one of the people arrested - and he probably would have, as one of the instigators - he probably would have lost his job. What pre-school would want to employ a guy who started a riot and wore a giant teddy bear costume as part of a sexual kink? They’d probably think he was a pervy pedophile or something. And he probably already had problems, being a gay man who taught small children. 

He wondered if Jonah’s cheating boyfriend had been one of the guys who got arrested. He really hoped so. Asshole deserved it. Who would cheat on somebody as sweet and adorable as Jonah with some random guy who you couldn’t even see because he was wearing some stupid costume? What an idiot.

 

His cappuccino machine began its death rattle, and he wandered into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. He decided to make breakfast, hoping that Jonah liked scrambled eggs and bacon. If not, he had bagels and cream cheese that Jonah could eat, and some fruit and yogurt as well. He popped wheat toast into the toaster,. And scrambled eggs in the pan next to the crackling bacon. His stomach rumbled, wanting food since it hadn’t gotten much sleep. 

 

Just as he was finishing up, a sound at the archway leading into his kitchen made him look up. Jonah stood there, looking all flushed with sleep and adorably shy. “Hey, Ari,” he murmured, his lashes falling over his brown eyes.  
Aristotle shuddered and groaned a bit. “Good morning, Jonah,” he said as evenly as he could. “Are you hungry? I’m making breakfast.”

“It smells great,” Jonah said, sniffing the air. “Bacon?”

“Yes, and scrambled eggs and toast. Also, I made coffee. Would you like a cappuccino?”

“That would be wonderful,” Jonah said fervently. “Can I help?”

“Nope. I’m pretty much done. Sit down and I’ll feed you,” Aristotle pointed at a stool next to the breakfast bar.

Jonah hesitantly perched on the stool, looking unhappy that he wouldn’t be allowed to help. Aristotle filled a plate and carried it over to him with a fork then went to make him a cup of coffee to go along with it. Jonah picked up the fork and sampled the food. “Oooh, this is so good,” he moaned, and Aristotle shuddered silently as his fingers gripped the coffee mug so tightly it’s a wonder it didn’t shatter. Is this what Jonah would sound like in the throes of passion? Oh, damn!

He forced himself to finish making the cappuccino, then carried it over to Jonah. “I’m glad you like it,” he said, only a tad hoarsely. 

“I do. You’re a good cook, Ari.”

“I had to learn to cook for myself, or I’d have had to eat take-out for every meal. it seemed easier and cheaper to learn to cook. Besides, I kind of like it,” Aristotle said as he filled a plate for himself and perched on the stool as far away from Jonah’s as he could get, on the far side of the breakfast bar.

They ate mostly in silence, a surprisingly peaceful silence. Then Jonah sighed, pushing his empty plate away from him. “I should go home,” he said glumly. “And start packing up Josh’s stuff so I can kick him out.”

Aristotle looked at his miserable face, and felt pity flow through him. “Would you like me to come with you?” He asked. “I can drive you home and help you pack stuff up. It’s Saturday: I don’t have anything else to do today.”

Jonah perked up immediately. “You’d do that for me?” he asked happily. “Are you sure, Ari?”

Looking at that beautiful smile, Aristotle knew that he’d have done just about anything to see that smile. “I’m sure,” he replied. “Definitely sure.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle is starting to think about Jonah in ways he really shouldn't...

Jonah devoured his breakfast with an intensity and fervor that rather took Aristotle back. He lifted his brows as he watched the other man scrape his plate clean what seemed like only a minute after he’d set it in front of him. Seeing his incredulous expression, Jonah began to turn red as he set his fork down. “Sorry, I was just really hungry,” he said apologetically. “There was a buffet at the convention last night, but I didn’t get anything to eat before I found Josh…” he looked down, blinking away fresh tears. “So I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon,” he added. “I thought that Josh and I would have a late dinner at home after the convention…”

“I understand,” Aristotle said sympathetically. “You must have been starving.”

“I was. And it was so good!” He beamed at Aristotle, who felt warmth coil in his belly at the praise of his cooking. “I’m not used to somebody cooking for me,” he added. “Josh is a lousy cook. So I basically did all of the cooking every day.”

Aristotle lifted a single brow eloquently. He definitely didn’t think much of this Josh, who besides being a cheating bastard apparently took advantage of his boyfriend as well. ‘Bet he never ordered take-out for them to give Jonah a break,’ he thought sardonically. ‘Selfish and a cheater. A real peach.’  
He acknowledged to himself silently that he was comparing himself to this so-far unseen Josh, and coming out on top on all counts. If HE were Jonah’s boyfriend…

His thoughts abruptly derailed in shock. What was he doing?! He sternly reminded himself yet again that Jonah wasn’t his type, that they probably had little in common, and that Jonah had a weird sexual kink to boot. His body ignored him completely, the traitorous creature. Even the thought of Jonah wearing the teddy bear costume in the bedroom wasn’t turning him off as much as it should have been. 

He took in a long breath as Jonah peeped up at him through what Aristotle was beginning to notice was a set of almost absurdly long lashes. “Ari? You okay?” he asked.

He managed a nod. “Yes, I’m fine,” he said huskily. This was sort of a lie, but he was going to ignore that for now. Whatever was happening to him, he was just going to pretend that it didn’t exist. Yep, that was the ticket. Right.  
“Uh, all right. Umm…I don’t suppose you have anything I can wear? I know we’re not even close to the same size, but these clothes…” he glanced down at his dirty, rumpled t-shirt and jeans with a grimace. 

“I’ll see what I have,” Aristotle said, rising to his feet. “You might swim in whatever I find, but it’s still better than what you’re wearing now. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I’ll clean up in here,” Jonah leapt to his feet, then gasped and put his hand to his side. 

“Are you all right?!” Aristotle cried, fear shooting through him. Had he hurt Jonah more than they’d thought? If something was really wrong with Jonah, he’d never forgive himself for not staying at the hospital last night no matter what…

Jonah shook his head. “It’s just that the bruises have stiffened,” he explained to Aristotle. “It’s not bad, I swear. Just a twinge.”

Aristotle relaxed a bit. “Are you sure? We could still take you to a doctor this morning.”

Jonah shook his head. “No. I really don’t feel bad. In fact, I was feeling pretty good until I jumped to my feet and jarred my bruises. But if it’ll make you feel better, Ari, I promise to go see my doctor really soon just to check that I’m okay.”

He relaxed even further when Jonah said this. “Thank you. That does make me feel better.”

Jonah smiled. “Then I swear I’ll do it. Now go and get me some clothes, and I’ll clean up in here.” He bustled away, having turned bossy and practical.

Aristotle’s lips twitched. On some men, that bossiness would have grated on his nerves. But on Jonah, somehow it was cute. Maybe because he was so adorable. It was impossible to take his bossiness personally. 

He went into his bedroom and looked through his drawers and closet to see if he could find anything that would even vaguely fit Jonah. He finally decided on a hoody that the man would swim in, and would probably hang halfway to his knees, and a pair of sweat pants that had a drawstring at the front. They could roll up the cuffs at the bottom so Jonah wasn’t tripping every five seconds. He carried these back to the kitchen, finding that Jonah had tidied everything up and rinsed the breakfast dishes. 

“These should do,” he said, handing the clothes to Jonah. “Try them on. They might hang on you, but it’s the best I can do.”

“Thank you, Ari,” Jonah said with a smile, taking them. “I appreciate this. Be right back,” he left to try the clothes on, and Aristotle started the dishwasher and evaluated what food he had to buy at the grocery store later on. 

Jonah came back after a bit, looking like he was trying to control his laughter. “Is it as bad as I think?” He asked Aristotle.

He felt his lips twitch. The hoody hung from Jonah’s narrower shoulders, and did, indeed, go halfway to his knees since Aristotle had at least five inches of height on him. Not that Jonah was incredibly short; Aristotle was just 6’3’. The sweat pants had been rolled up at least four times, so Jonah had bulging cuffs just below his calf. He looked like a little boy wearing his dad’s clothes. 

Seeing his face, Jonah cracked up. “I knew it,” he chortled. “I look ridiculous.”

“It could be worse,” Aristotle pointed out. “At least I’m not three hundred pounds or something.”

“Good point,” Jonah agreed, wiping at his eyes. “Well, we’d better get going. I want to put on my own clothes again. Besides, it’s going to take me a while to sort through Josh’s stuff and get it packed up.”

“You should just dump it out on the lawn,” Aristotle told him dryly.

“I should,” Jonah agreed. “But since I live in an apartment, I don’t think my neighbors or landlord would go for that.”

Aristotle grabbed his keys from the counter. “Let’s get going, then,” he agreed, feeling a pang of regret. He’d probably never see Jonah again after this. 

Jonah was carrying his dirty clothes in his arms. He followed Aristotle down to the garage to get into his Audi. “This is a gorgeous car,” he remarked, settling into the leather seat with a happy sigh. “I didn’t notice last night, but this is awesome!”

“I think so, too,” Aristotle agreed with a smile. “I love my baby.”

Jonah giggled. “Your car is your baby?” he said in amusement. 

“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Aristotle asked defensively. 

Jonah grinned. “It’s just that our definitions of ‘baby’ are a lot different. My cats are my babies.”

“Oh, God. You have cats?” Aristotle said, shaking his head as he started his engine. It purred to life like a big cat. He loved the power contained in this metal beast. 

“Hey! What’s wrong with cats?!” Jonah demanded, glowering at him.

“Nothing. It’s just I associate them with crazy little old ladies.”

Jonah made a disgusted sound. “The crazy cat lady trope is really annoying. Tons of people have cats. Hell, statistics show that more people have cats than dogs in America. So there!”

Aristotle grinned at his outrage. “Okay,” he said easily, pulling out onto the street. “Where to, Not A Crazy Old Cat Lady?”

Jonah snorted but gave him his address. Jonah leaned back in his seat. “I hate this,” he murmured sadly. “I can’t believe I have to kick Josh out. I can’t believe he did this to me.”

Aristotle glanced sideways at him. It made him feel bad, the sadness on Jonah’s face and in his brown eyes. What didn’t make him feel bad, however, was the fact that Jonah was going to kick his cheating boyfriend to the curb. At least he wasn’t going to ‘Give the guy another chance’ because ‘I’m sure it was a mistake or something’. Cheaters would always be just that - cheaters. If you forgave them, they’d just know that they could get away with it and wouldn’t hesitate to cheat again as soon as they could. He unfortunately had some experience with that. The boyfriend before last had been cheating on him with anyone he could find on Grindr, as he’d discovered when he’d accidentally come across that Grindr account. At least he hadn’t been living with that bastard, though. Jonah had it worse, because he had to kick the guy out and pack up all of his shit. 

He pulled into the parking lot of Jonah’s apartment building. Jonah suddenly gasped, and Aristotle asked: “What is it?”

“Oh, my God. Josh,” Jonah was staring at a man sitting on the stairs leading to the second floor. He had dirty blonde hair and was good-looking in a smarmy sort of way, Aristotle thought in silent irritation. 

He stopped the car. “Do you want to leave?” He asked. 

Jonah sighed, but shook his head. “No. I’ll have to deal with him some time. Better to just get it over with.” He reached for the door handle, and   
Aristotle swiftly got out of the driver’s side in case Jonah needed him for anything. He was bigger than this Josh asshole. He could flex his muscles menacingly if this guy tried to start anything. 

“Josh,” Jonah said tightly. 

The man leapt to his feet. “Jonah! My God, where have you been?! Did you get arrested?”

“No,” Jonah said coldly. “I was lucky. I managed to get away. I slept over at a friend’s house.”

Josh frowned. “A friend? Who?” He asked suspiciously.

Jonah glared at him. “You really don’t get to ask me that question, Mr. Unicorn Fucker!”

Josh looked guilty. “Look, Jonah, I can explain that…”

“How? Your penis fell into his ass on accident?” Jonah drawled, still glaring daggers at his former boyfriend. 

Josh stepped toward him. His voice turned wheedling. “Baby, please. I love you. This was a one time thing, a mistake…”

Aristotle growled. Josh jumped and turned toward him, his eyes widening when he saw a fairly big, tall guy giving him the stink eye. “Who the hell are you?!” He demanded, his voice rising in register. 

Aristotle decided to crack his knuckles in a not-so-idle gesture. “I’m the friend that Jonah stayed with. And I’m the guy that’s going to kick your ass if you don’t get the hell out of here within the next few minutes and don’t come back.”

Josh looked frightened, but he turned toward Jonah again. “Jonah? You don’t really want me to go, do you?” He asked pleadingly. 

“Yes, I do, Josh. We’re done. I’ll have you stuff in boxes out on the curb in a few hours. You can come and get it, but don’t come and try to talk me out of kicking you out. I never want to see you again.”

Josh opened his mouth to argue, but Aristotle cleared his throat significantly. “I’ll be staying here to help Jonah box up your shit,” he drawled to Josh. “If you try to wheedle your way back into his life, I’ll see if I can rearrange various of your body parts. Got that?”

Josh nodded, clearly terrified of him. He scurried away with a last glance over his shoulder. 

“Thank you, Ari!” Jonah breathed. “You’re such a great guy.” He beamed at Aristotle, who felt that shaft of warmth in his stomach again. 

“So. Shall we get started packing up Loser Boy’s stuff?” he asked, clearing his throat.

Jonah looked startled. “What? I thought you were just bluffing Josh. You don’t have to stay, Ari.”

“I want to,” he replied firmly. And he did. He really did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle meets Jonah's cats

“Ari, could you get my costume from your trunk and bring it in?” Jonah asked him.

He hesitated, glancing around. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to be seen lugging a giant teddy bear costume around. But finally he nodded and hurried over to his trunk, opening it and grabbing the bulky, awkward costume. He slung it over his shoulder, and went back to where Jonah was waiting for him. The other man beamed at him. “Thank you, Ari! Please come in,” he led the way to his apartment door and opened it. Apparently the door was unlocked, which he supposed made sense since that little cheater Josh had slept here last night. Jonah walked into the neat little apartment, followed by Aristotle, and began to croon in a sickly sweet voice: “My babies! Where are you, my darlings? Come out and see Daddy!”

Aristotle wondered briefly if Jonah had lost his mind, but then he heard a loud meow, and two cats came into the small living room from a hallway that probably led to a bedroom, and came toward Jonah. One stalked elegantly, a lovely Siamese with arctic blue eyes. The other lollopped, a scruffy cat with a coat made up of many shades of brown, that stood up in tufts all over its body. A pair of greenish eyes stared up at Jonah as this kitty trotted determinedly toward its owner. 

Jonah crouched down and reached out to pet the cats. “Ah, Arabella, Dingus,” he said happily. “I’m sorry I stayed out all night. Are you two okay?”

Aristotle’s brows flew up. Arabella he could understand, but Dingus?! Jonah glanced over his shoulder and up at Aristotle. “These are my babies,” he said happily. “Aren’t they adorable?”

Aristotle started to open his mouth and say something, but the scruffy brown cat took that moment to sashay up to him and begin to weave around his ankles happily. He staggered, startled by this maneuver, and almost lost his footing. The cat continued to twine around him, purring loudly, which made Jonah giggle. Aristotle gave him a grumpy look, which earned him a bright grin and a pair of twinkling brown eyes. “He likes you,” Jonah crowed, rising to his feet with Arabella draped elegantly in his arms like a living cat statue. “Dingy really likes you.”

“Great,” Aristotle muttered as the feline stumbling block rubbed up against his leg. “What does he do to people he doesn’t like? Put them in traction?”

Jonah laughed outright. “Dingy’s just showing you affection. Don’t worry, I can make him move. Dingy, love, food!” 

His sing-songed words made the scruffy cat abandon Aristotle and race into the kitchen. Jonah followed after, still carrying Arabella. The Siamese gave Aristotle a cool stare over his shoulder, her disdain for him clear. He didn’t know which he liked least - Dingus’s(and what kind of name was that for a cat, anyway?!) overenthusiastic affections, or Arabella’s clear dislike and contempt. This was why he didn’t have pets. 

He carried the teddy bear costume over and set it on the couch. It slouched there, looking for all the world like a giant teddy bear had broken into Jonah’s apartment and passed out on the couch after a night of hard drinking. Aristotle eyed it and shook his head silently. Wearing this really turned Jonah on? That was just…weird. Any attraction he felt for the guy was probably a really bad idea, and should be squelched ruthlessly before it got out of hand. 

He heard Jonah talking to his kitties in the kitchen. The sound of that happy voice made him smile, in spite of himself. Dear God, this was bad. He ruthlessly reminded himself yet again of why it was such a bad idea to be interested in this guy, which helped just about as well as it had been so far. Which was to say, not at all. He cursed under his breath and wandered over to the kitchen door, seeing Jonah crouched by a matching set of bowls on the floor. The cats were eagerly eating the food out of them, having a race to see who could finish first. Dingus appeared to be winning, but only by a hair. 

“Don’t they ever stop to chew?” Aristotle asked dryly.

Jonah looked up at him and grinned. “Nope. Because the one who finishes first tries to steal the food that’s left in the other ones’ dish. Mostly they finish almost at the same time, so there’s little to nothing left to steal. But they still try it, every time. The silly things.”

Aristotle shook his head. “And you like cats why?” he asked, which made Jonah laugh again. The sound of that laugh did such bad, bad things to him, deep down in his gut. And other places, as well. 

“I don’t know. They can be pretty awful sometimes. But they’re my babies. Could you ever hate your babies, no matter how bad they were?” he reached out to run a hand over Dingus’s back, and the cat purred for him while still scarfing his food noisily. 

“Guess not. I suppose I don’t get it because I’ve never had a pet,” Aristotle remarked. 

To his surprise, Jonah looked stricken. He rose to his feet, his eyes fastened on Aristotle’s face. “NEVER?!” He cried, sounding horrified.

Aristotle’s brows shot up. “Uh, no. My parents didn’t like noise and fuss. They were always studying and writing, and they needed quiet to do that. Animals would have made too much of a racket.”

Jonah reached out and set a hand on his arm. “Oh, Ari, that’s awful. I’ll bet they made you be quiet all the time, too. And you just a kid. I’m so sorry.”

Aristotle didn’t know what to say to this. It was true that his parents had often required him to be quiet and not play loudly in the house, but he mostly escaped outside and made a racket there instead, where they wouldn’t be bothered. “It wasn’t so bad,” he said. “I could always go and play outside.”

“Yes, but to never have a single pet? That’s just criminal. All kids need a pet. There’s nothing better than having something to love and care for when you’re a kid. We have a class pet - a guinea pig named Rosco. The kids take turns taking care of him. It teaches them responsibility and empathy.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re a pre-school teacher. How can you teach such little kids? Don’t they get on your nerves?” Aristotle asked, hoping to change the subject. He didn’t want Jonah feeling sorry for him. 

Jonah smiled. “No, I love my kids. They’re all so much fun. Even when they get cranky because they’re tired, I don’t mind. We have nap time, and that helps them feel better. I guess I kind of hoped…” He trailed off, and a suspicious sheen fell over his eyes. He blinked away incipient tears, looking down at his cats. “I guess I sort of hoped that since Josh was the one, we might think about getting married and maybe having kids of our own. Stupid of me, huh? I’m such a fool.”

He sniffled, and Aristotle couldn’t help himself. He put his arm around Jonah’s shoulders and squeezed. “It’s not your fault, Jonah. You thought he was a good guy. You thought he loved you. It’s never the fault of the person being cheated on, not even if they were horrible to their significant other. The least you could do if you hate the way your life is is to walk away, not cheat on the other person. It doesn’t take much to break up with them before you go and get some somewhere else. Josh should have broken up with you if he wanted to sleep with other guys, not cheated on you. He’s the jerk here, and the fool, too. Because you seem like a really sweet guy, Jonah. I can’t understand why anyone would cheat on you, unless he’s an idiot and an asshole. And if that’s the case, you’re better off without him anyway. You need someone who will love you and appreciate you, someone who would never even contemplate cheating on you once they have you.”

“Thank you, Ari,” Jonah whispered, turning his face into Aristotle’s shoulder and standing still in his embrace. “I’m so glad you’re here with me,” he whispered. “I’m not sure how I’d get through this alone.”

“Well, you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here. Try not to let this get you too down, Jonah. There’s somebody better for you out there, I promise.”

“Do you really think so?” Jonah asked softly, trying to burrow into his shoulder. 

Aristotle gritted his teeth. The soft feel of Jonah’s nose rubbing against his skin was making his dick stand up and take notice. It was getting decidedly frisky. “Sure,” he husked from between set teeth, in answer to Jonah’s question. 

“I hope so. But how can I tell whether he’s a cheating bastard or not? I thought Josh loved me. I thought he’d never do something like that to me. Now I don’t know who to trust,” Jonah said miserably.

Aristotle tightened his arm around Jonah, holding him close. He liked the feel of him, and the soft puff of his breath on his skin. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jonah,” he sighed. “Sometimes you just have to trust if you want to have a relationship with somebody, but you’re right. It’s not easy to tell who’s a good guy and who isn’t. I’ve been cheated on, too. It really sucks.”

Jonah lifted his head, blinking his lashes to clear away the film of tears. “You were?” He asked, his eyes searching Aristotle’s face.

He nodded. “Yeah. The boyfriend before last was hooking up left and right with guys on Grindr. I accidentally stumbled onto a text from a guy on the site one day when I borrowed his cell phone to make a call. I went to Grindr and found out that he’d been a busy little sexual bee on the site. Pollinating all over the place. Apparently, not only wasn’t I enough for him, a whole football team wouldn’t have been. Talk about a blow to your ego.”

Jonah set a hand in the middle of his chest. His eyes were sympathetic. “That’s really terrible, Ari. I’m sorry. I guess you had it even worse than me, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” he replied simply. “I never thought that he loved me, and I wasn’t making big plans for our future together. We weren’t even living together or anything. So while it hurt, it wasn’t that bad. I just kicked him to the curb and got on with my life. But you’re dealing with a betrayal by a guy who you thought loved you and has been living with you. That’s harder,” he stroked a hand through Jonah’s soft hair. “And it really sucks. I’m sorry, Jonah.”

Jonah sniffed again, though he seemed to have pulled himself together. He stepped back, making Aristotle feel a little bereft. “It’s okay. I’ll get over it. Because I won’t let Josh ruin my life,” he added, lifting his chin. “I won’t stop looking for a good relationship. Screw Josh. I’ll find somebody MUCH better than him!”

“That’s the spirit,” Aristotle said with a smile. He liked Jonah’s courage and his ability to bounce back. In fact, he liked a lot of things about Jonah - far too many things already. He might be in big trouble here.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle gets an important phone call

Ari sat on the side of Jonah’s bed and packed things into boxes as Jonah handed them to him. Jonah had made a run to a nearby store to ask for unbroken down boxes, and now he was separating out his ex-boyfriend’s things to pack them up and put them outside. He looked miserable as he handled the belongings of a man that he’d thought loved him, and his eyes sometimes brimmed wit tears. Aristotle wished he could do or say something that would make it better, but he knew that wasn’t possible. The wound was too fresh. Jonah would just have to get over it in his own time and at his own pace. 

But he could offer support, and that was what he was doing. Whenever Jonah started looking too down, Aristotle would start talking. He’d tell stupid jokes(That always made Jonah giggle) or silly stories to take Jonah’s mind off of what he was doing. They always helped for a bit, and Jonah threw him several grateful glances. Clearly he knew that Aristotle was trying to distract him from his unhappy task.

The cats helped, too. They stalked the floor and the bed, crawling all over Jonah and meowing loudly for attention. He’d stop to pet them or bury his face in their fur, crooning nonsense to them. Dingus jumped on the bed after a bit and came to sit beside Aristotle, which sort of wigged him out. The scruffy brown cat would reach out a paw now and then and tap his thigh, and Aristotle would hesitantly pet him. This always earned him some loud purring, which he had to admit was kind of nice. The rubbing against his leg lovingly wasn’t so much, though, since it meant that his jeans were soon coated in brown fur. 

He heard a soft laugh as he fended off yet another Dingus ‘love attack’, and looked up to see Jonah smiling at them. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the small closet, going through the heap of clothes he’d thrown on the floor so he could deal with it all at once. He’d divided most of it into two piles already, one of his clothes’ and one of Josh’s. “He really likes you, Ari,” Jonah told him in amusement. “I’ve never seen him so taken with somebody besides me before this. He didn’t even react that way to Josh.”

“Well, clearly he has good taste,” Aristotle said loftily, pushing Dingus’ head away from his fingers. The cat kept trying to nibble on them. 

Jonah’s smile widened. “Yeah, I’d say so. Ari’s a good guy, huh, Dingy? We like him very much.”

His words made something funny flutter deep down in Aristotle’s abdomen. But before he could say anything, his cell phone rang. He pushed the cat away again and pulled it from his pocket. To his surprise, the name on the screen was ‘David Pierce’. he frowned, but tapped the icon to take the call and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?” he said warily.

“Hey, Aristotle. Sorry I had to cancel our date last night. But I swear that an unexpected case came up at the last minute, and we had to spend half the night reading over the briefs and preparing our initial defense. The client’s gone through two other lawyers already, so there was lots of stuff to review. But I’d like to make it up to you, if I may. Can I take you to lunch tomorrow?”

Here was his dream come true. The guy he was interested in hadn’t blown him off after all, and wanted to go on a date tomorrow! He should have been ecstatic. But instead, he felt curiously apathetic about the whole thing. He felt great reluctance to accept the lunch date, though he should have been jumping on the chance. His silence must have lasted too long, because David said: “Aristotle? Is something wrong? Are you still angry with me?”

He cleared his throat. “No, no, David, I’m not angry. It’s just you took me by surprise, that’s all. I might have plans tomorrow, could we reschedule for sometime this week?”

“Absolutely. I’ll try to work it in, though we’ll be drowning in work preparing this case.”

“If it’s going to be that bad for you, we could postpone until next weekend. I don’t want you to have to leave your colleagues in the lurch. Is this case important?” Aristotle asked, hoping(for some strange reason) that David would say yes.

“Well, actually it is. It’s is a wealthy client who could bring in a lot of business for the firm,” David said.

“Then it’s settled. I’m glad that you’re willing to try to get away to have lunch or dinner with me, but you concentrate on your case and we’ll do something next weekend. Okay?”

“You’re a good guy, Aristotle. Thanks for understanding,” David said warmly.

Yeah, he was a good guy. Such a good guy that he was postponing the date he’d been looking forward to for a whole week! Plans tomorrow my ass. He was an idiot. “That’s me, Mr. Good Guy,” he said wryly. “Listen, give me a call sometime during the week and we’ll make plans for the weekend. I’m busy helping a friend do some packing and moving right now, or I’d talk longer,” Aristotle said smoothly.

A chuckle. “Definitely a good guy, helping out your friends. All right, I’ll give you a call. Talk to you soon.”

“Sure,” Aristotle said, feeling guilt burning in his gut. 

He hung up the phone. Jonah had stopped sorting clothes and was looking up at him. “Was that your boyfriend, Ari?” He asked curiously.

“No, not exactly. He’s a guy I asked out to dinner, but he came up with what I thought was a really lame excuse last night to get out of the date. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t see you in time to hit my brakes. I was checking my texts to see if I had any from him. It was really stupid and dangerous, I know…”

“It’s okay, I understand. But he called today and wants to go out on that date after all?”

“Yeah. We’re setting something up for next weekend, since he’s really busy right now with some high profile case at his law firm. He’ll be busy all week. I guess it wasn’t a stupid excuse after all.”

“That’s great! I’m glad, Ari,” Jonah said, beaming at him. 

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, feeling guilty again. He should be over the moon that David had called today, that he still wanted to go out and was looking forward to the date. Why wasn’t he?

He stared down into Jonah’s cute face, and knew exactly why. His inexplicable attraction to Jonah was getting so out of hand that now he was blowing off a date he might have had tomorrow, with a guy he’d been really looking forward to dating! He was losing it. Really losing it. Jonah was literally just coming off a bad relationship, and even if he weren’t he hadn’t so far shown any return interest in Aristotle. He had to nip this thing in the bud before it really got out of hand. He had to get back on track with David, and concentrate on the fact that he was going to get the date he’d wanted after all, with the hot guy he’d been lusting after for months. 

He took a deep breath. “Should we finish up in here?” he asked, “Then maybe order a pizza or something. My treat.”

Jonah nodded. “I’ll be glad to be done with this room,” he said with a tired sigh. “Everything in here reminds me of Josh.” He dug into the pile of clothes again determinedly.

 

It only took them another hour to finish the bedroom, and Aristotle lugged the heavier boxes outside while Jonah carried boxes of clothes and smaller personal belongings. They left them on the sidewalk outside, lined up, for Josh to come and retrieve. Then they ordered a pizza and watched some TV while they waited for it to arrive, chatting together about nothing much. Aristotle found it surprisingly comfortable. He really liked talking to Jonah. 

The pizza came, and they tore into it. Jonah liked pepperoncini and pepperoni as much as he did, and they devoured the whole thing with gusto. Then they tackled the bathroom and living room, which had far less of Josh’s stuff in them. It only took another hour to scour the small apartment. 

 

Jonah stood and looked at the neatly stacked pile of boxes sitting on the sidewalk, his eyes sad. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he whispered, mostly to himself. He hugged himself tightly, shivering even though the day wasn’t cold.

Aristotle stepped forward and put his arm around Jonah again. “Come inside. Forget about him. You’ll definitely find somebody better, Jonah. Try not to give that cheating jerk another thought.”

Jonah smiled a watery smile at him as Aristotle guided him back inside his apartment. “Thank you, Ari,” he said gratefully. “You’ve been so kind to me. I can never thank you enough.”

“Hey, I hit you with my car. No thanks is necessary here,” Aristotle remarked dryly. 

“That wasn’t your fault!” Jonah protested. “I ran out into the street without looking where I was going.”

“Doesn’t matter. I still would have felt awful if anything had happened to you. Besides, I like you, Jonah. You’re a sweet guy who’s going through something nasty. Something you don’t deserve. I’d hope that if I were going something terrible, somebody would be there for me.”

“I will be, Ari,” Jonah said with a trembling smile. “We’re friends now, right? You can’t not be my friend, not after you hit me with your car. That’s a bond. And friends stick by each other, especially when times are tough.”

He chuckled. “Sounds good, Jonah. Yes, we’re friends. And I’m standing by my friend right now. I expect you to do the same for me someday.”

“I will, Ari. You can count on it,” Jonah declared.

“So what do you want to do now that we’ve chucked all of the jerk’s stuff outside?” Aristotle said after a moment’s silence.

“Would you like to watch a movie with me? Just hang out? I’m sure that you have other, more important things to do with your weekend…” Jonah began hesitantly.

“Nope. Hanging out watching a movie sounds great. It would only be better if we had some beer,” Aristotle remarked.

Jonah smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing that Josh liked beer, isn’t it? Microbrew craft beer okay with you, Ari? You have my permission to drink every last bottle of the expensive stuff that Josh bought for himself. It’s in the fridge.”

“Sounds great. Can I get you anything while you put on the movie?”

“Just a glass of fruit juice. Thank you, Ari. I’ll put the movie in.”

“What are we watching?” Aristotle asked as he moved toward the kitchen.

“Ah, ah, ah. You’ll have to wait and see,” Jonah said gleefully.

“Now I’m worried,” Aristotle remarked as he entered the kitchen. He relished Jonah’s bright laugh, going over to the fridge. They were just two friends hanging out, he reminded himself as he opened the door. That was it. That was all it could be.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle just can't stay away...

They spent the next few hours watching movies together. Aristotle was surprised that Jonah had pretty good taste in movies, and actually liked action movies and thrillers as much as he did rom coms. In fact, they watched Die Hard together, one of Aristotle’s favorite movies of all time. Jonah seemed to like it just as much, and admitted to having a crush on Bruce Willis. Aristotle had to agree that Bruce had been a babe back in his younger days(not that he was all that bad even now, though), especially when he was playing an action hero foiling a terrorist plot. It disturbed him a little that he and Jonah seemed to share a similar taste in movies; that made his efforts to distance himself form Jonah even harder, because the argument that they couldn’t be right for each other because they had nothing in common sort of went out the window. 

Finally, reluctantly, he had to take his leave. He had some work to do at home for Monday, especially since his boss was still kind of pissed at him. Jonah understood; he smiled sunnily at Aristotle and thanked him fervently once again for all of his help. Then he insisted on giving Aristotle his cell phone number, so that they could keep in touch and maybe start doing stuff together. Friend stuff.

Aristotle was in two minds about that as he backed out of the parking spot in front of Jonah’s apartment. He lifted a hand to Jonah, who stood in his doorway and waved vigorously with his free hand. His other hand was petting Arabella, who’d worked her way back into his arms. While he wanted to hang out with Jonah and be friends with him, he wasn’t entirely sure that he could do that. His attraction to Jonah was already so strong - what would happen if it got completely out of control? What if he made a move on Jonah and was rebuffed? Would it become so awkward between them that their tentative friendship would evaporate?

He’d simply have to control himself, no matter what. He wanted to be friends with Jonah if he couldn’t be anything else. He wanted to be in the man’s life no matter what, and if friends was all he could get then so be it. 

 

Aristotle wasn’t going to, but somehow he found himself calling Jonah the very next day. He mentally flagellated himself for this as the phone rang, but his heart jumped in his chest when he heard that light voice on the other end. “Hey, Ari! Good morning!” Jonah said. 

“Good morning, Jonah,” he said with a smile. “I hope it’s okay that I’m calling.”

“Yep! I’ve just been sitting here feeling lonely and sorry for myself. I was thinking of calling some of my friends to come and keep me company, but if my newest friend wanted to hang out with me today, that’d be good…” Jonah said brightly.

“I’d love to. Did you have anything in mind?” Aristotle asked as casually as he could.

“Yeah. I want to get out of the house, and there’s this big farmer’s market they hold every summer full of all kinds of great stuff. Not just fresh fruits and vegetables, but handmade crafts and tasty foods and all kinds of things. Would you like to come with me?”

“That sounds great,” he said truthfully. “Do you want me to come and pick you up?”

“Sure. I can direct you there. We’ll make an afternoon of it. We can get some of the best food you’ve ever had for lunch, made from organic ingredients. You’ll love it.”

“I’ll be there in about a half an hour to pick you up,” Aristotle told him.  
“Great. I’ll be waiting. Thanks for doing this with me, Ari.”

“Hey, what are friends for? Even new friends,” Aristotle said, trying to sound as cheerful and light-hearted as possible.

A giggle. “Yeah. See you soon.”

Jonah hung up, and Aristotle sighed at himself as he went to change his clothes(something casual but nice, with some cologne that drew men to him like bees to honey, and just a hint of hair gel to give his hair that tousled look- yes, he was primping, damn it!). He left his house wearing a blue polo shirt that one boyfriend had said really made his dark-blue eyes pop, and a pair of casual khaki slacks that he knew with a certainly made his ass look great. ‘This is not a date, this is not a date, this is not a date’, he reminded himself over and over again as he drove out of the parking garage of his building. ‘Really, really it isn’t.’

 

He snorted as he drove to Jonah’s apartment building. Who was he kidding? He only WISHED this was a date! But Jonah only thought of him as a friend, so a friend he’d be. Just two friends, hanging out together. And if one friend checked out the other friend’s ass from time to time…well, it was what it was. 

 

Jonah opened his door at Aristotle’s knock, and smiled in greeting. He was casually dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt with the picture of a teddy bear on the front, and a pair of stone-washed jeans. Aristotle eyed the teddy bear on his chest, then looked at Jonah. The smile widened and became impish. He winked. “Bear with me, Ari,” he crooned in a silly voice.

Aristotle felt his lips twitch. “You’re ridiculous,” he said, his voice teasing.

Jonah nodded, grinning. “That’s me! Here, Bella, love, go and play with Dingy. Daddy will be home later,” Jonah set the Siamese on the floor. She glared at Aristotle, correctly guessing that he was the reason that Jonah was leaving her, and stalked elegantly away with her nose in the air.

“I don’t think she likes me,” Aristotle remarked ruefully.

Jonah shrugged. “She doesn’t like anybody but me. Dingy likes a lot of people, but Arabella is picky with her affections.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me,” Aristotle said as Jonah stepped outside and turned to close and lock his front door. 

“That’s good. I couldn’t be friends with someone who doesn’t accept my babies,” Jonah said cheerfully. 

“What is it about cat people and their obsession with their pets?” Aristotle asked as they walked toward his car together.

“Because we’re their devoted slaves. Cats are the masters, humans are but merely their servants. Didn’t you know that?” Jonah said, his eyes dancing.

Aristotle snorted. “I would never let myself be a slave to some furry little dictator.”

Jonah laughed. “Then you should never have kids, Ari. Because while they’re not furry, they are definitely little dictators. They rule your life for eighteen years or more.”

Aristotle considered this as he got behind the wheel. He’d never really thought about having children before this. He supposed that Jonah would be an expert on kids, especially little kids, if he was a pre-school teacher. “Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea,” he said aloud as he started the car.

“It isn’t everybody’s,” Jonah agreed. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. “To tell you the truth, if Josh hadn’t wanted kids I would have been fine with that. I have forty of the little scamps to take care of and cuddle with every year; I wouldn’t necessarily need one of my own.”

“Forty?” Aristotle said with a frown as he pulled out of the parking lot.   
“I have two classes every day because the kiddies only come to school for four hours at a time,” Jonah explained to him. “Schools know that such little kids couldn’t concentrate properly for eight hours a day.”

“Oh, I see,” Aristotle said. “So you really like teaching?”

“Yes, I do. I’d have to, wouldn’t I? The job doesn’t pay much and can be a lot of work and stress. Also, you don’t get much respect from…well…ANYBODY. So you have to love it or you wouldn’t do it.”

“That’s not right,” Aristotle objected. “No other job requires you to love it because it doesn’t pay enough and is really hard. A job should compensate you for your work and education accordingly.”

“Tell that to the government - or the school board,” Jonah told him wryly. “That’s why so few people get teaching degrees anymore, though. For a lot of people the work and stress and low pay just aren’t worth it. In a decade or so, we’ll have a major teacher shortage everywhere. Maybe then they’ll finally start paying us better.”

Aristotle shook his head, but only said: “Where to?”

Jonah began to direct him to the large farmer’s market. They talked as he drove, discussing things like movies and TV shows and books they liked. It was the sort of light chatter you’d expect on a first date. Which is why Aristotle had to remind himself yet again that this WASN’T a date! They were just friends, comparing the things they had in common. Which turned out to be way more than he’d ever expected. Jonah and he both had a geeky love of sci fi, even bad sci fi. Jonah laughed as he described how he’d once stood in line at a comic-con to get William Shatner’s autograph, which he still had. It was framed and hung up in his home office.

“You’re just not the kind of guy I’d expect to love Star Trek that much, Ari,” He mused when he stopped laughing. “I guess you really can never judge a book by its cover.”

“Hey, just because I don’t wear suspenders and thick glasses doesn’t mean I don’t have geek cred,” Aristotle replied loftily. “And Star Trek helped me to get through my childhood. Part of that was because my parents hated the show. They thought it wasn’t pretentious enough. Not that they ever said that, but that’s the gist I got. They turned their noses up at it, disdaining it as ‘plebian’. Once they did that, I knew it was the one for me. I religiously watched every re-run I could find, and when we got a vcr I taped them, too. And I’m glad that I did, even if it was just to piss my parents off at first. I love that show, and lots of other sci fi stuff, too. I guess I’m just plebian.”

“I’m glad you’re plebian, too,” Jonah remarked with a sunny smile for him. “It adds to your character and makes you more down to Earth. I mean, you can be a bit intimidating with those fancy suits and this expensive car and that chic haircut. But how can I ever be intimidated by a man who loves Star Trek?”

“You don’t need to be intimidated by me, I promise. I’m mostly just a regular guy, who happens to be pretty good at business negotiations sometimes. I get paid more than you do, but in my opinion teachers should be paid a ton more than they are. Your job is WAY harder and more important than mine is.”

“Thank you,” Jonah said. “You don’t know how good it is to hear somebody say that. Most people act like teachers don’t do a thing except baby-sit all day, and they resent their taxes going to pay our salaries.”

Aristotle snorted. “Good teachers can prepare students for the world and for a career. Bad teachers can screw them up big time. Good teachers are one of this country’s most important assets. I remember every good teacher I’ve ever had, and how they inspired me to work harder and stretch my imagination and always want to learn more. I bet you’re a good teacher, Jonah,” he mused. “You just seem like a guy who’d connect well with little kids.”

Jonah’s cheeks turned red, and he lowered his lashes shyly over his eyes. Aristotle felt his groin surge and his stomach muscles tighten. Dear God, the man was so freaking adorable and attractive like this! Made him want to just stop the car, push Jonah back in his seat, and eat him from the feet up. Instead, he concentrated back on the road as Jonah said softly: “I like to think that I am, yes. The kids and I really get along. Maybe that’s because I’m just sort of a little kid myself.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Aristotle remarked, his voice only a little hoarse. 

“No,” Jonah agreed. “There’s not. I think the world would be a better place if more people kept their inner child around and were just a little bit child-like sometimes. There’s nothing like a child for innocence and taking joy in everything.”

There was something to be said for being an adult, too, Aristotle thought to himself. Because then you could do all of those adult things that he wanted to do with Jonah. So many adult things, so little time…


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And a good day was had by all at the farmer's market

The farmer’s market was a huge place, with booths spread out over what looked like a few acres of land. Aristotle followed an excited Jonah in bemusement, as the man darted from booth-to-booth and exclaimed over the goods displayed by each one. All kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables; homemade breads, pies, and cakes; jars of honey and homemade jams; quilts and other crafted goods; and various types of clothes from tie-dyed skirts to hand-sewn leather jackets. “I’d love to make you dinner tonight, Ari,” Jonah said over his shoulder. “This fish looks really nice, so I thought I’d make some fish stew like my mother used to make. Is that okay?”

“It sounds great,” Aristotle replied. 

Jonah beamed at him. “We’ll need fresh tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, onions…oh, hell, I’ll probably end up buying some of everything. I just love fresh veggies. Don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Aristotle said. “Though not as much as you do, clearly.”

Jonah giggled. “Yeah. I’d grow a garden if I had a yard. I’ve thought about trying to talk my school into growing a garden to supply fruits and veggies for the school cafeteria. The students could help maintain it. But I’m not sure my principal would go for that.”

“You could at least suggest it, even if they say no,” Aristotle pointed out. 

“I guess I will. I’d love to have a garden at the school. I think the students would really enjoy gardening and growing their own food. Oo, look! Fresh peaches!” He darted away to another booth, leaving Aristotle to amble after him in amused silence.

 

Aristotle found himself acting as a beast of burden for the overly excited Jonah. His arms were soon full of bags and packages of all kinds. He’d had to go back to his car once already, to stash a large load of goods in his trunk. Instead of being annoyed about the whole thing, however, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Jonah’s face was aglow, and he chattered happily with the people manning the booths. His hands moved animatedly. Aristotle found himself enraptured, just watching Jonah. Every expression, every tilt of his head, every smile that passed over his lips…he couldn’t look away. He knew it was bad when all he wanted to do was just watch Jonah all day. This wasn’t just physical attraction. This was much, much worse.

The man sitting behind a booth full of squash, carrots, potatoes, and peppers was flirting with Jonah. He had a nice smile and a mane of curly brown hair. Aristotle felt his lips tighten as Jonah laughed at something the guy said. Jealousy flared up in him. He closed his eyes as he fought it off. He didn’t have the right to be jealous. Jonah wasn’t with him. They weren’t dating. They were simply friends. 

He opened his eyes again, watching as Jonah let the man from the booth touch his arm as he discussed his wares with Jonah. Aristotle had to look away, across the farmer’s market, and pretend to be interested in a booth full of odd wooden sculptures and carvings. He thought them incredibly ugly, but when Jonah noticed what he was staring at, he insisted that they go over and look the carvings over. To see if Aristotle saw anything he liked.  
It took some verbal tap dancing to make Jonah think that he just wasn’t interested in buying anything right now, rather than the fact that he hated the stuff and wouldn’t have wasted a dime on any of it. Fortunately for him, Jonah saw something else he wanted to look at and fluttered away like an overexcited butterfly. 

 

They ate lunch at a food stand serving vegetarian food that was surprisingly tasty., Aristotle had a pita stuffed with all kinds of veggies, two kinds of tasty cheese, and a tangy ranch sauce. Jonah had a garden burger with cheese and a spicy mayo. There were thick, homemade fries that they shared, fighting amiably over the ketchup. 

“I’ve spent way too much today,” Jonah confessed with a grin. “I’m going to have to live on ramen for the rest of the month.”

“Really?” Aristotle looked at him worriedly. “Do you need money to buy groceries for the rest of the month?”

Jonah laughed merrily. “You’re so sweet, Ari. I was just joking, though I have spent too much. I’ll be okay. Me and the kitties will eat just fine. But thanks for the thought.”

“I just don’t want you to go hungry,” Aristotle said with a shrug, feeling uncomfortable.

Jonah leaned over and touched his hand where it sat on the top of the little table they were sitting at. “You’re going to make some guy happy someday, Ari,” Jonah said softly, his smile turning winsome. “Maybe that guy you were talking to on the phone yesterday?”

“Maybe,” he croaked, far too aware of Jonah’s touch on his hand. It seemed to go straight to his dick. 

 

Too soon, Jonah withdrew his hand and the moment was over. They spent the rest of the afternoon browsing and shopping in a leisurely manner, then Aristotle took Jonah home and helped him bring in all of his bags. Jonah sorted stuff out in the kitchen, keeping out the things he intended to use to make them dinner. Arabella sauntered over to twine around Jonah’s ankles, meowing, but Dingus headed straight for Aristotle. The scruffy brown beast rubbed against his leg, depositing hair all over his khakis. The creature meowed at him, looking up at him out of those big green eyes. Aristotle felt annoyance, but also something else. He found himself crouching down and scratching at the thick ruff of hair around Dingus’s neck. The cat arched his back and purred loudly, butting his head against Aristotle’s fingers. 

“He really likes you,” Jonah said merrily above his head. Aristotle looked up. The other man stood in the doorway leading into the kitchen, smiling down at them. 

“I guess,” he remarked, rubbing at one ear as Dingus went into ecstasies at his touch.

“He almost never gloms onto someone like that. Only people he really likes. Even Josh never got that reaction,” he added with a grimace. “I should have paid attention. If my baby didn’t like Josh, I should have known better than to get too serious about him.”

“You can’t really trust what a cat thinks of someone to judge their character,” Aristotle said skeptically.

“Oh, no. You can. Cats know who the cool people are, and who the jerks are. Pick up Dingy, he wants you to hold him. Because he knows that you’re one of the cool people,” Jonah said with a grin.

Aristotle tentatively scooped the scruffy cat up in his arms. Dingus draped himself happily over Aristotle’s arms, purring like an engine. “See?” Jonah said gleefully. “Told you. He really likes you. Dingy has great taste.”

Aristotle didn’t know what to do. The cat was firmly placed and clearly wasn’t going to go anywhere for as long as he could get away with it. “Why don’t you sit on the couch and watch some TV with him? I’ll start dinner. Come on, Bella, you can help,” he said to the Siamese.

Arabella stalked away at her owner’s heels, ignoring both Aristotle and Dingus. Aristotle looked down at the cat in his arms. Dingus stared back, still purring. “Oh, hell,” Aristotle sighed. “Let’s watch some TV, huh, cat?”

Dingus seemed to approve of this plan. He let Aristotle sit down gingerly on the couch, transferring promptly to his lap and curling up there. Aristotle picked up the remote and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. He wasn’t much of a sports fan, and most of the movies he found were halfway through, so he settled on a channel showing something about women picking out wedding dresses. He supposed that it was a very gay show to be watching, but Aristotle decided not to care. He scratched idly at Dingus as the cat slept in his lap, critiquing each dress that the soon-to-be brides tried on. 

Some of them were just plain ugly, Aristotle thought, staring at a particularly poufy and frilly dress that drowned the prospective bride. “Don’t pick that one, honey, no matter how much your mom likes it,” he told the TV screen. “It’s hideous.”

A giggle behind him. “It is,” Jonah agreed. “It really is awful, huh? I’m glad that guys only have to pick out tuxes when they get married. Girls have it way worse. You have to pick something figure flattering and not ugly, in your price range. We just have to show up and let the tailor take in an inseam or two.”

“Yeah, when I have to go to formal affairs for my company, I like the fact that I have a basic black tux and a nice suit and those are the only two things I need. Women have to find a nice little dress that doesn’t look like the one they wore to the last event, and drop a ton of money on it.”

“Poor ladies. Though I know about spending a lot of money on things to wear to events…” Jonah trailed off, sounding rather embarrassed.

Aristotle turned to look over his shoulder, trying not to disturb the cat in his lap. “What do you mean…?” He began, but then stopped. “The costumes?”

Jonah nodded, his face red. “I can’t sew or anything, so I have to buy them. They really do cost a lot. I shouldn’t spend the money, but I can’t…help myself.”

“There are a lot worse things you could do with your money,” Aristotle pointed out. “Booze, drugs, buying prostitutes, hiring a hit man to take out Josh…”

Jonah laughed helplessly at that. “I wouldn’t do that,” he sputtered when he could speak again. “Though I might think about it once in awhile. Cheating shouldn’t be a death sentence, though the temptation is always there for the person who’s been cheated on. Also, I don‘t think I could afford the hit man anyway.”

“You could try and get a loan,” Aristotle replied with a grin. “Imagine trying to explain to the loan officer what you wanted the money for.”

Jonah nodded. “Though as a poor teacher, I couldn’t get a loan anyway. Maybe a loan shark? At least a loan shark would be understanding about what I wanted the money for.” 

“You could go see the loan shark wearing your teddy bear costume,” Aristotle teased. “Then he’d think you were crazy and might not mess with you.”

Jonah sobered, looking unhappy. “You don’t think I’m crazy for wearing it, do you, Ari?” He asked.

“No!” he cried, feeling bad when he saw the sudden shimmer of tears in Jonah’s eyes. “Really, I don’t! Okay, maybe I did when I first ran you over, but I didn’t know you then. So you’ve got a harmless little sex kink, so what? You’re not hurting anybody, and you’re one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met. Not some nut job pervert. And everybody has their little things where sex is concerned. I do.”

Jonah blinked away tears, looking avidly curious now. “You do? What?”

Aristotle sighed, but he supposed he owed it to Jonah for making him feel bad to tell him what weird little thing got him off during sex. It was something he didn’t like to tell his partners until they’d been together for awhile, and he was sure they wouldn’t freak out. “Err…I have a…foot fetish,” he mumbled, looking down at Dingus. The cat butted his head against Aristotle’s hand, comforting him.

“Oh. So you really like feet?” Jonah said. “That’s not anything bad.”

Aristotle grimaced. “It’s more than that,” he muttered.

“Umm…”

“I like to suck toes!” Aristotle said loudly, his face turning red. 

Silence. His shoulders hunched. Then Jonah said in amusement: “That’s it? You like to suck toes? That’s not really weird, you know.”

“A lot of guys seem to think it is. They look at me like I’m a freak when I try to do it. Especially because I like to take my time and lavish them with affection. They start to get impatient and want to get to the main course, even if they’re okay with it. It’s just…they don’t understand, you know?”

“Nobody knows better than me, Ari,” Jonah pointed out. 

Yeah. He was right. Aristotle took a deep, shuddering breath. Yet another reason to be attracted to Jonah - he understood Aristotle’s little kink, and wasn’t the least put off by it. God, the list of reasons why he was attracted to Jonah was getting longer and longer. If only…if only the man hadn’t just broken up with a cheating boyfriend. If only Aristotle didn’t want to be a rebound guy. But ’if only’ didn’t help, because both of those things were true.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle has a date...too bad it's with the wrong guy...

The fish stew was thick, rich, and tasty. Aristotle ate three bowls of it, then apologized ruefully for being a pig. Jonah only beamed at him. “It’s nice to see somebody appreciate my cooking,” he told Aristotle. “Josh just took it for granted that I do the cooking because I could and he couldn’t, and he never even said thank you for any of the meals I made him, let alone praised me. I like seeing a man scarf my food because he loves it…that makes me very happy.”

“Well, I’m glad. It was utterly delicious. Thank you for cooking for me. I do appreciate it,” Aristotle said sincerely.

“You’re welcome. I love cooking for my man. Uhh…not that you’re my man,” he added hurriedly, his cheeks heating, “But I love cooking for my friends, too. There’s nothing better than watching them eat my food and knowing I took care of them. I guess I’m just a mom at heart.”

“Thanks again, Mommy,” Aristotle said teasingly, with a dazzling grin.

Jonah snorted as he pulled out a tub of ice cream for dessert. “Watch it, sonny boy, or I might spank you for being a bad boy.”

Aristotle felt a streak of heat pass through him at these laughing words, and gulped as his groin became full and heavy. The images racing through his head…he really was a bad boy. He tried to control his heavy breathing as Jonah scooped out two bowls of Neapolitan ice cream for them both, not wanting Jonah to think he was some pervo. He was glad to eat the ice cream, to have something to do with his mouth besides panting like a dog in heat. 

 

After dessert, they watched another movie together. It was a cheesy horror film, and it made Aristotle laugh. Jonah, however, squeaked and hid his eyes at the bloody slasher parts, which made Aristotle laugh even harder. Though what he really wanted to do was take Jonah in his arms and let him hide his eyes against Aristotle’s shoulder. As it was, he didn’t even drape his arm casually over the back of the couch. But it was a difficult struggle not to.   
“You big baby,” he teased Jonah as the end credits rolled. “That wasn’t scary.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I know the movie was stupid, but when that guy started chopping people up with that big old machete…I guess I’m just a chicken.”

Aristotle patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. At least you were willing to watch it at all, which is surprising considering how spooked you were.”

“I keep trying to watch them sometimes, to see if I can get over my fears,” Jonah explained. 

“Hey, the definition of true courage is being scared, but doing whatever scares you anyway,” Aristotle told him. 

“You really think so? That’s a nice thought,” Jonah remarked. “Maybe someday I’ll actually get over fear of watching horror movies. You never know.”

“Yeah. Listen, I have to get going,” Aristotle remarked, glancing reluctantly at his wrist watch. “I’ve got some work to finish up before tomorrow. And I know that teachers have to be up early, too, so…”

“All right. I had a really good time today, Ari. Thanks for going to the farmer’s market with me.”:

“Hey, I enjoyed myself too,” Aristotle said honestly. “I’ll call you tomorrow, maybe?”

“Sure. Call me anytime after six. We could just talk or whatever,” Jonah said with a smile.

Aristotle rose to his feet and headed for the door. Dingus, who’d been sprawled in his lap, squawked in complaint as he was summarily deposited on the couch. Jonah grinned and scooped him up. “It’s okay, Dingy, Ari will come and see you again sometime soon, I’m sure of it,” he told the cat as he buried his nose in the beast’s fur. “Right, Ari?”

“Sure. I’ll be counting the hours,” Aristotle replied dryly, making Jonah laugh heartily.

“Goodnight, Jonah,” Aristotle said as he opened the front door of Jonah’s apartment. 

“Goodnight, Ari. Sleep well,” Jonah called, waving with one hand while he petted a disgruntled Dingus with the other.

Aristotle closed the door after himself. He walked toward his car, stopping for a moment on the sidewalk to take a deep breath of the night air. “What are you doing, Aristotle?” He whispered to himself. 

But he had no answer for himself, so after a moment he sighed and got in his car. Time to go home and back to his real life, and pretend that this weekend had been an aberration.

 

Aristotle was so busy at work for the next week that he barely found time to eat and breathe, let alone call Jonah. He worked late into the night, because his boss was punishing him for losing that big deal. He dragged his ass home from work after ten o’clock some nights, and all he managed(besides gulping down a bowl of cereal and falling into bed) was to send Jonah a single text explaining why he hadn’t called yet. Jonah sent him one back commiserating with his plight, and being very understanding. Seeing it made Aristotle want to curl up in bed and spend half the night just texting Jonah, and he would have if he weren’t so damn tired. 

He almost forgot about David calling him by Friday, until he finally got off at a reasonable hour and his cell phone rang as he was climbing into his car. He looked at the screen, and saw that it was David calling him. He debated not picking up, but in the end he sighed and took the call. His fantasies of getting together with Jonah were just that- fantasies. David was real, and unattached, and not recovering from heartbreak, and interested in him.   
“Hey, David,” he said into his phone as he got into his car.

“Hi, Aristotle. Howe was your week?”

“Hellish. How about yours?”

David laughed. “Busy. Really, really busy. But I’ve got the weekend off, so I thought I’d call and see if you wanted to go out on that date with me. You still interested?”

Aristotle almost opened his mouth and said ‘no’, but finally he mentally kicked himself and replied: “Sure. What would you like to do? Dinner and a movie, the normal kind of thing for a first date?”

“Actually, I thought the theater. There’s a production of Les Miserables downtown, would you like to go with me? We could have dinner afterward.”

“Sounds great,” he replied, trying to sound hearty and excited when inside he was wincing. He hated musicals. Hated them with a passion, which he knew was practically a sin where a gay man was concerned. Ugh, three hours of depressing singing about how horrible your lives are? No, thank you! But if that’s what David wanted to do, he’d go along with it this time and pretend like he was enjoying himself. But next time, HE was picking what they did on the date!

“Great. I’ll get the tickets tomorrow on-line. I can’t wait to see you in a tux or a nice suit. I’m sure you’ll be smoking hot,” David said, practically purring.

While it was nice that David thought that he was hot, Aristotle just couldn’t get excited by the compliment. God, he was really losing it! This sexy, smart lawyer wanted to go out with him, and all he could think about was how much he’d rather spend an evening hanging out at Jonah’s place with him and his cats. “I’ll try my best,” he said aloud, trying to put a sexy lilt in his voice.

It must have worked, because David chuckled and said: “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, then, Aristotle. Shall I come pick you up, or meet at the theater?”

“Meet at the theater,” Aristotle replied hurriedly. He wanted to go in his own car, just in case the date fizzled out. 

“It’s a date! I’ll see you tomorrow night,” David told him. “I’ll text you the details tomorrow after I buy the tickets.”

“It’s a date, I’ll see you then,” Aristotle said, then hung up.

 

He wanted to bash his head against the steering wheel. Instead, he drove home to his empty apartment, seeing Jonah padding barefoot down his hallway in his mind’s eye as he went into his bedroom. He sat down on his couch and pulled out his cell. He tapped the screen to call Jonah’s number, knowing that the man would be up because it was Friday night. Teachers had to turn in early on weekdays, but he was pretty sure that Jonah would still be awake tonight. 

Jonah picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” His cheerful voice said on the other end.

Just hearing it made Aristotle feel better. He found himself smiling. “Hi, Jonah, it’s Ari.”

“Ari! We’ve missed you so much this week!” Jonah cried, sounding happy. 

“We?” He asked in bemusement. 

“Me and Dingy! He’s been sulking all week because you haven’t come over. He misses you, and so do I.”

“Sorry, I’ve just been so busy all week at work that I didn’t even have time to call you. My boss was riding me hard to punish me for losing that deal last week,” Aristotle explained, feeling good that Jonah had missed him. 

“I understand, Ari. I know what it’s like when work gets busy. We’re just happy to talk to you now. How are you?”

“Better now that it’s the weekend. Also, I’ve got another deal lined up, and if I can swing it my boss will forgive me. And…” he paused, then said reluctantly, “I have a date with David tomorrow night. We’re going to the theater.”

“Oh, that’s awesome, Ari! I’m so happy for you!” Jonah cried. 

“Thanks. I’m looking forward to it,” Ari lied. “How about you? What are you doing this weekend?”

A sigh. “Not much. Although I think I might go out with some friends Saturday night. Just to get out of the house, you know? Who knows, maybe I’ll meet someone nice,” Jonah said with a sad laugh. 

“Don’t you think it’s a bit early for you to be thinking of dating again?” Aristotle asked him. “I mean, you only kicked Josh out last weekend.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just lonely, Ari, you know? But that’s not a good reason to get into another relationship right away. Thanks.”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for you,” Aristotle said. “I remember what it was like when I kicked my cheating boyfriend to the curb, and we weren’t even as close as you and Josh were. And I’ll try to make more time for you this week, so you won’t be too lonely. If you don’t mind hanging out with a friend rather than partying?”

Jonah laughed. “I’d love that, and so would Dingy. I’m not much of a partier, anyway. I’d much rather stay home and watch a movie with somebody, even just a good friend.”

“Surprisingly, me, too,” Aristotle admitted.

“Then we’ll do that as soon as you have time. I’ll look forward to it, Ari.”

So would he. As he settled in for a long conversation with Jonah, Aristotle realized that he was looking forward to spending time with Jonah far more than he was his date with David. God, he was so fucked!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle's date doesn't go that well

Aristotle tried not to squirm in his seat. Two hours in, and this damn musical was still going strong! God, it was the worst. Because not only was it all singing, not mixed with any talking; it was also really depressing. Songs about how horrible the characters’ lives were. Endless songs. He wished that he could fall asleep, but he didn’t dare. David clearly wanted him to like this stuff, and kept glancing sideways at him. So he had to pretend to be enraptured and enthralled by the show, which wasn’t easy when all you wanted was a good set of earplugs and a tablet to play on surreptitiously until it was over. 

At least the company was good. David looked positively edible in that tuxedo, which fit him like a glove. He was a tall, blond, sleekly handsome creature, with a dazzling white smile. He was also smart and cultured, a great conversationalist. Sexy, handsome, and intelligent. The perfect man, right?

Right. So why did his mind keep going to Jonah? Whenever he looked into David’s baby blues, he wished that they were brown instead. He suspected that Jonah would have laughed along with him at this depressing crap. Maybe they would have made jokes about the show, or perhaps Jonah would come up with various costumes that the actors could wear that would make it more interesting.

He smiled at this thought. That girl playing the prostitute could wear a cat costume with a little bow over one ear. And Javert could wear a wolf costume. He busied himself with imagining what costumes he’d put each of the actors in, and that helped the time to pass more quickly.

He started when a hand closed over the one resting on his knee. He slid his eyes sideways, seeing David smiling at him in a sultry manner. He returned it, feeling a little guilty for thinking about Jonah and his little kink instead of trying to enjoy the show and the man sitting next to him. He suspected that if he wanted to, he could get laid tonight. David’s fingers were stroking over his, and while his dick stirred a little in his trousers, it was only the faintest of reactions.

If he thought about Jonah, he knew he could have a great night. But the very thought was distasteful. It wouldn’t be fair to David, Jonah, or even himself to do that. If he slept with David tonight, he wanted to do so because he really wanted David and was really turned on by the man. Not because he was using him as a substitute for someone else. The person he really wanted. So while he allowed David to stroke his fingers, Aristotle knew that he’d be turning David down if the man propositioned him tonight. Looked like he might be entering a long dry spell, if he kept mooning over Jonah yet wasn’t willing to make a move on the guy for several very good reasons…

 

David sighed with pleasure as they left the theater. “That was amazing,” he remarked. “One of the best productions I’ve ever seen of Les Miz.”

Aristotle hid a faint grimace. “Yeah,” he agreed, keeping it short and sweet. 

“So, would you like to go and get a nightcap?” David asked him, touching his arm. They’d eaten dinner together before they went to the theater. 

“Uh…” Aristotle began, turning toward him. “This has been great, David, but…”

The other man looked at him, the blue eyes shrewd. “But you’re not interested?” He finished for Aristotle. 

At Aristotle’s stare, he shrugged and sighed. “I could tell all night that you weren’t really into me. You were before, when you first asked me out. But now…” he studied Aristotle’s face. “Now something’s changed. It’s like you were somewhere else all night. What’s happened, Aristotle?”

He took in a long breath. “I’m sorry,” he began quietly. “I should have told you before this, rather than accepting a date with you. I’ve…met somebody else. Somebody really special. Only…he’s not available. So I thought…”

“You thought you’d give it a try with me instead, hoping the spark was still there,” David said.

“Yeah. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s all right, Aristotle. I understand. So…is this special guy married?”

“No. In fact, he just broke up with his partner. But when I say ‘just broke up with his partner’, I mean last week. And they were living together. He thought this guy was the one, and the guy cheated on him. He’s got a lot to process, and I don’t want to be the rebound guy who moves in too soon and gets kicked to the curb once he’s finally over his loser ex-boyfriend.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Aristotle,” David said admiringly. “And you’re probably right. If this guy is messed up from a bad break-up, he won’t be able to concentrate on a new relationship just yet. Looks like you’ll have to wait, if you want to get together with him. Hell. Hearing how smart and mature you are, only makes me regret not snagging you sooner even more. Before you met this guy,” his smile was wry. 

Aristotle couldn’t help but smile a little himself. “Actually, I met him the night that you stood me up because your firm had just gotten that new case,” he told David.

“Ouch. Rub salt in the wound, why don’t you,” David said, pretending to wince. 

“So…uh…” Aristotle began carefully.

David shook his head. “Don’t look so uncomfortable, Aristotle. I’m just glad you told me the truth before we got any closer. And I know this is cliché, but we can still be friends, can’t we? I enjoy being in your company, even if we’re not dating.”

“Yes, we can. I’d like that,” Aristotle told him. “You’re a good guy, David.”

“Not good enough, apparently,” David said with lop-sided smile. When Aristotle started to apologize again, he waved it away. “That’s all right, Aristotle. You’re not the only fish in the sea. I’ll find somebody else. Somebody who thinks that I’M the special one, not someone else.”

“I know you will,” Aristotle said sincerely.

“Okay, then. Since that’s taken care of, would you still like to get a drink with me? We can just talk. You can tell me all about this special guy that you’re going to wait for.”

“I’d like that,” a relieved Aristotle replied.

 

The next morning, Aristotle woke up from a dream about Jonah. In it, he’d seen a giant teddy bear standing over his bed. He’d stared up at it, unable to move. Slowly the gloved hands had risen, and pulled the head of the costume off. Jonah’s smiling face appeared. His brown eyes were full of a darkness that made dream-Aristotle’s cock spring to life. “Do you like my costume?” Dream-Jonah purred. 

“Yeah,” his dream self had croaked. 

“Mmm. Let me get out of it,” Jonah had pulled his gloves off slowly, then raised his hands and began to pull off and wriggle out of his costume body. Dream-Aristotle’s breath caught when he saw that Dream-Jonah wasn’t wearing anything underneath the teddy bear costume. Oh, a pair of the cutest pink nipples he’d ever seen were revealed when Jonah slid out of the top of the costume. His breath caught. Damn, he was as hard as a rock! And Jonah’s slim hands were pulling at the costume, pushing it down his hips, any second now…

 

He woke up just before the costume reached the point of no return. Aristotle lay in bed, cursing, his cock rock hard. He reached down to grab it, jerking himself off quickly while thinking about that sexy dream. He groaned as he came all over his own hand and belly, shuddering. Oh, God. He was willing to wait for Jonah to be ready, but it was going to be such a long, LONG wait… 

 

Jonah called him in the early afternoon, as he was making his lunch. “Hey, Ari. How did your date go last night?” He asked eagerly.

“Oh, pretty good. But David and I decided to just be friends. We didn’t have much in common, it turns out, and I wasn’t as attracted to him as I first thought I was.”

“Oh, that’s too bad! But at least you got a new friend out of it,” Jonah remarked sympathetically.

“Yeah. Though, to tell you the truth, I should have known. Any man who likes Les Miserables enough to go and see it more than once…isn’t the guy for me,” Aristotle said dryly. 

Jonah giggled over the phone. “You don’t like musicals, then?” he asked in amusement.

“Not really. And a musical that’s all singing about a bunch of really miserable poor people and all the awful things that happen to them…that’s too depressing for words. All I could do not to fall asleep. Or maybe shoot myself in the head to put myself out of my own misery.”

“Poor Ari. To be honest, I’m not really a huge fan of musicals, either,” Jonah admitted. “Though I should probably turn in my Gay Club Membership Card for admitting that, shouldn’t I?”

“You and me both, Jonah,” Aristotle replied. “At least we know what movies to never watch together, hmm?”

“Yes! Speaking of that, Ari, I was wondering if you’d like to come over and watch some movies with me and Dingy today,” Jonah asked. “It’ll help take your mind off of your date last night, at least.”

“I’d love to. Will you cook for me? That fish stew again?” Aristotle asked hopefully.

“Sure! I’d love to. The kitties always love it when I make it, too, because they get the left over scraps and fish is their favorite. Just let me run to the store to buy the stuff for it. Come over in like forty-five minutes or so?”

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Aristotle assured him.

“Great. See you then,” Jonah hung up, and Aristotle stared at his phone’s screen. Hanging out with Jonah all the time was going to be pure torture, but a uniquely pleasurable one all the same.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle is starting to lose hope.

“Ooo, look at that!” Jonah exclaimed, pointing at a bright, rather kitschy-looking lamp in a shop window.

“You have got to be kidding,” Aristotle said incredulously, eyeing the lamp in disbelief. It even had fringe along the bottom of the shade. 

“No! I think it’s wonderfully tacky,” Jonah said with an impish grin.

Aristotle shook his head. “How did I let you talk me into going shopping with you?” he asked of no one in particular.

Jonah looped his arm through Aristotle’s and snuggled up to his side. “Because you love me, Ari?” He said in a sing-song voice as he batted his lashes at the taller man like a trained ingénue. 

He came SO close to opening his mouth and replying: “Yes, yes I do,” but meaning it seriously. But somehow he kept his mouth shut. It was just getting harder and harder all of the time.

 

Three months. He’d known Jonah for three months now. They’d hung out together(a lot) watched many movies, gone to various odd things like that farmer’s market, on shopping trips, and even on a day trip to a tourist trap not far away. They’d talked about anything and everything(he now knew everything about Jonah’s childhood and adolescence), and they’d laughed often and long together. They’d even had a spat or two. They were very close to being a real couple, except for the fact that they didn’t have sex and Jonah still thought that they were just best friends. He had no clue that Aristotle wanted more from him, and that fact was slowly but surely driving Aristotle completely crazy. 

“Come on, Ari, don’t be so grumpy,” Jonah crooned, patting his arm. “Hey, I’ve got something to tell you that will cheer you up! I met a guy…”

His heart plunged down into his shoes. Aristotle felt sick. Had he missed his chance with Jonah by waiting for too long? Then Jonah continued: “He’s perfect! You’ll love him, Ari!”

He blinked. “Me?” he said, taken aback.

Jonah nodded vigorously. “His name is Gage, and I met him at the school. He came in to fix our computers. He’s handsome, Ari, and funny, and really smart. Also, he’s a total geek! We got to talking, and he admitted he was gay. And he said he’s tired of the club scene, that he wants to try for something more serious. I told him that I’d just broken up with my serious boyfriend, and that I wasn’t looking for anybody; but that I have a friend who is handsome and charming and intelligent, and completely, one hundred per cent single. So he’s really excited to meet you. I got his number on my phone,” he added, pulling his cell from his pocket and waving it around. “Do you want it?” he held out the phone tantalizingly.

Aristotle took in a deep, shuddering breath. He felt relief course through him that Jonah hadn’t found an eligible man for himself, then apprehension that Jonah was looking for eligible men for HIM. Worse, Jonah clearly still wasn’t interested in dating again yet, if he’d steered this Gage away from himself so adroitly. What should he do? He didn’t want to meet this Gage, but he also didn’t want to make Jonah feel bad after he’d gone to all of this trouble. Besides, if Jonah wasn’t ready to start dating again, how could it hurt for him to meet this guy? 

“Sure, give me his number,” he said dully, feeling depression flow through him. He pulled out his own cell so that Jonah could program the number into it. His shoulders slumped as he watched the eager way that Jonah tapped in the number on his keyboard. God, how could Jonah be so blind?! Unless…he was being deliberately blind, because he knew that Aristotle liked him and didn’t reciprocate those feelings. Maybe…he was just using this as an excuse to gently steer Aristotle away from his interest in him?  
He felt a chill at this very thought. It made him feel cold down to his very bones. A sick feeling roiled in the pit of his stomach. If that were true, he’d never have a chance with Jonah. 

Well, being friends was okay, too. Right? He really liked spending time with Jonah, above and beyond his attraction to the man. He didn’t want to give up his friendship with Jonah, even if he never got a chance with him. So he’d hide his feelings and pretend that he was excited to meet the guy that Jonah had found for him.

“Here you go!” Jonah crowed, handing him back his phone with a big smile on his face. “I hope you like him, Ari!”

“I’m sure I will, if you found him for me,” he managed to return with an only slightly stiff smile. 

“Come on, let’s go look at this store down there. They have the funkiest lamps! I want to get a new one for my bedroom,” Jonah prattled on, hooking his arm over Aristotle’s companionably. “Dingy knocked over my other one and broke the shade. I didn’t have the heart to yell at him; he looked so miserable when I ran in after the crash and saw him crouching there.”

Aristotle shook his head as Jonah began to tow him along. “You’re too soft, Jonah.”

“I know. But they’re my babies! I can’t stay mad at my babies!”

Aristotle pretended to roll his eyes, which made Jonah poke him in the side with a huff. They both laughed, and the tension drained away out of   
Aristotle as they got back on a friendship footing. Yes, being Jonah’s friend would be enough for him. It simply had to be.

“So, did you call Gage yet?” Jonah asked him eagerly when he called a few days later.

Aristotle grimaced. “Yeah, I did,” he replied tightly.

Silence on the other end of the phone. Then: “Didn’t you like him?” Jonah asked worriedly. 

“He seemed fine. Just not my type of guy. All he talked about were computers, and how to fix computers, and what and what kind of computer games he plays…Hell, I didn’t understand half the things he said. What the heck is SQL and Linux and Cobol? And how do I tell how many pings my computer is getting? I swear, I needed some kind of computer language translation book handy while talking to him.”

“Oh, dear! I’m sorry, Ari. He wasn’t like that when I talked to him,” Jonah said contritely.

“You didn’t know. It was sweet of you to try to set me up, even if it didn’t go well,” Aristotle replied, keeping any hint of how glad he was that Gage hadn’t been his type out of his voice. 

A soft sigh. “I just hate to see you all alone, Ari,” Jonah said unhappily. “I want you to find somebody great.”

His fingers tightened on his cell phone so much they almost cracked the casing. Howe could Jonah not see that he’d ALREADY found somebody great?! It was driving him crazy that Jonah was so clueless! “I’m sure I’ll find somebody soon,” he said between his teeth. 

“I hope so. I’ll keep looking, okay?”

“No, no. No offense, Jonah, but I don’t want my friends to try to set me up on blind dates. I’m perfectly capable of finding myself eligible men,” Aristotle said tartly. 

“Oh? Then how come you haven’t found any yet? It’s been almost three months since you went out on one date with that David guy. You need to get out there and look, Ari,” Jonah told him sternly.

He was going to need a trip to the dentist if he kept grinding his teeth like this…Fine. He was going to be(partially) honest with Jonah. “Well, the reason is that I’ve already found somebody that I like, and he doesn’t like me back, Jonah. Not in that way,” Aristotle said. “So until I can get over him, I’m not going to be ready to look for another relationship.”  
“Oh! Who is he, Ari? Where did you meet him? Do I know him? I’ve met most of your other friends. Is it one of them?” Jonah asked excitedly. 

“Yes, it is one of my friends,” Aristotle admitted tightly. “But I won’t tell you who, because you’ll only bug him and he doesn’t deserve to be pestered. It’s not his fault he doesn’t like me as more than a friend. You can’t force him to have romantic feelings for me, Jonah.”

“I know that! But…How can he not like you romantically, Ari? You’re a great guy!” Jonah protested.

“:Thanks. But it is what it is. I accept that, and I’m fine with being ’just friends’ with him. It hurts, but I’ll get over it and move on. I just need some time to do so, that’s all. Then I’ll go out and find somebody else. But for now, could you not bug me about looking for someone? I’d appreciate it, Jonah.”

“Of course, Ari. I’m sorry that your friend doesn’t like you that way. That’s tough,” Jonah said in commiseration.

“Yeah. But I’m a big boy, I’ll live. And I’m sure I’ll get over it in time.”

“Sure you will! I’ll help you through it, just like you helped me through my break-up with Josh!” Jonah chirped.

Aristotle closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to find patience. “That’ll be great,” he said, trying to sound upbeat and not surly. 

 

Aristotle sat on Jonah’s couch with Dingus in his lap. The cat loved Aristotle’s lap, and always immediately jumped up into it the moment he sat down. The scruffy cat was purring loudly and lovingly kneading Aristotle’s pants with his sharp claws. He grimaced and tapped the beast on the top of his head. “Not so hard there, buddy,” he said. “I’d like to keep some of my skin, okay?”

Dingus went on blissfully kneading him, and Aristotle sighed and began to scratch the top of his head behind his ears. Arabella stalked by, glaring balefully at Aristotle. She blamed him because her daddy had gone out, leaving her alone with Dingus and Aristotle in the apartment, Jonah was making them dinner, and he’d forgotten a couple of things at the store earlier., he’d run out to get them, leaving Aristotle to watch TV and pet the kitty firmly ensconced in his lap. The Siamese went on her way into the kitchen, her tail conveying her disdain for them both.

“She don’t like us much, huh, fella?” Aristotle murmured to the cat in his lap. He glanced up briefly at the action movie playing on the TV screen, then down at Dingy, who was in kitty heaven from his petting. “I know all your good parts by now, huh? Yeah, right there,. That’s the stuff,” he said, as a blessed out Dingus rolled over and proffered his belly. 

“You got it good, guy,” Aristotle went on, as an explosion on the TV screen masked the sound of the apartment door opening: “You’re neutered. No worries about getting ladies, not even Arabella. Though she’s too snooty for you anyway. Not like me. I’ve got it tough.” He paused to pay some attention to Dingus’ belly, not seeing Jonah standing behind him quietly, his ears perked to catch anything that Aristotle said. “I like him so much, Dingy,” Aristotle went on sadly, giving Dingus a good belly rub and sending the cat into ecstasies. “But he doesn’t see it. He just thinks I’m a friend. I want to be so much more than that to him. Sorry, big guy, but I aspire to be closer to him than you are, if only I could get him to see. What should I do, Dingy? How can I make your slave understand that it’s him I want? Would he even care?” He sighed heavily. “I’m pathetic, Dingy. He probably wouldn’t care if he knew. I’ll always be in the Friend Zone. This sucks.”

A gasp behind him made him whirl around, displacing Dingus and sending the cat to the floor. He squalled in annoyance, but all Aristotle could see was Jonah’s wide-eyed face and open mouth. Oh, God! How much had he heard? He might be in real trouble here…


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aristotle facing the consequences of his little cat confession

Aristotle froze on the couch, a sick apprehension flowing through him. Jonah was still standing by the doorway, with bags of groceries dangling from his hands. His eyes were still wide, and his mouth a little open. He started to open and close it slowly, like a dying fish. Aristotle wanted to groan. What the hell had he done?! What if his confession to the cat ended up in Jonah breaking up their friendship? He wasn’t sure he could handle that. Maybe he could come up with some story about what he’d really meant…would Jonah buy that? 

Oh, who was he fooling? Of course he wouldn’t! Jonah was smart. Too smart to buy some bullshit story made up on the spot. He’d simply have to face the music, and hope that Jonah could handle his crush so they could still stay friends. He pulled himself together and rose slowly to his feet, careful not to step on Dingus. He didn’t want to hurt Jonah’s cat. Because that would only make the situation worse, and he couldn’t afford to do that.   
“Jonah,” he began helplessly.

Jonah stirred finally, closing his mouth and shaking his head as though to clear it. “Ari?” he croaked. “What did you? Do you…?” He trailed off, clearly not sure what to say.

Aristotle sighed. “I was talking to Dingy, and yes, I said what you think I said. I’ve had a major crush on you since practically the night I hit you with my car, Jonah. I’m sorry that you had to find out this way. I hope we can still be friends.”

Jonah’s jaw dropped. “Friends?!” He sputtered, making Aristotle cringe. Here it came. The big brush off. “You think we should still be FRIENDS?!

“Yes! Please don’t cut me out of your life, Jonah. I swear I’ll never mention it again. I can’t stand it if you reject me just because I’ve got a crush on you! Please don’t!” Aristotle begged, feeling sick and horrible. 

Jonah gasped at his expression. “Oh, Ari, you total, utter fool,” he barked, and he strode across the living room toward the cringing Aristotle. “You think I’d drop you as a friend because I found out you have a crush on me?! What do you think I am, stupid?!” he cried, before he grabbed Aristotle’s arms and looked up into his stricken face. “You’re an idiot if you think that I think this is a bad thing,” he chuffed in disgust. “God, Ari, you’re like a dream man! Handsome, intelligent, funny, charming…every guy would want you! I just never imagined that a guy like you could want a guy like me,” he added softly. “So I took friendship, because it was the only thing that I thought I’d ever get from you. Now I find out I can have so much more from you, and you think I’m going to give you the boot because of it? What a dumbass,” he said scornfully, just before he belied his harsh words by twining his arms around Aristotle’s neck, standing slightly on tiptoe, and putting his mouth firmly over Aristotle’s.

He was startled at first, but then the reality set in and he caught Jonah close to him. He finally got to kiss those pink lips, to find out if they were as sweet as they looked. And they were. Like candy. Jonah moaned for him, and he deepened the kiss recklessly, desperately. So long, he’d waited so long for something like this! And so futilely! He’d never imagined that this would come to pass. Now Jonah was in his arms, and nothing else mattered. He ran his hands down Jonah’s back over his shirt, then clutched at his ribcage as he stuck his tongue in Jonah’s mouth. It was happily received, and Jonah sucked on his tongue. He groaned at this sensation, wanting more of it. Wanting everything. Three months of frustrated lust were rising up inside of him, threatening to burn him up from the inside out. 

His hands slid down to find the tight ass he’d been surreptitiously ogling for months. It was firm and tight under his hands as he groped it. Jonah cried out into his covering mouth, and pressed even closer to him. Ari’s straining cock was pressed against his lower stomach, and Jonah rubbed his belly against it to make him shudder. He wanted to throw Jonah down on the couch beside them and take him relentlessly, until he screamed with it.   
But Jonah pulled away, making him want to whimper. His eyes opened. Jonah was staring up at him, his brown eyes searching. “Ari?” He whispered. 

“Yeah?” he croaked, waiting to see what Jonah wanted before he resumed kissing and groping the man.

Jonah shook his head in bemusement. “Why did you keep this a secret all of this time, Ari?” Jonah asked in confusion. “Why not just tell me?”

Aristotle sighed, his tense muscles relaxing at this reasonable question. “At first, I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to be your rebound guy,” he began slowly. “Your break-up with Josh obviously hurt you, and hitting on you in the days and weeks after you kicked him out would have been a sleazy and stupid thing to do. You needed time to get over him. Then, after awhile, I started to worry that you just considered me a friend and nothing else. You never showed any interest in me. Ever. I guess I thought that you weren’t into me as anything but a friend.”

Jonah sighed now. “Ari, I never showed any interest because I never imagined a babe like you would be into a guy like me! I’m weird, kinda dull, and I get off by wearing teddy bear costumes in the bedroom! I was just happy to have this major hunk’s friendship. I never allowed myself to expect anything more, that’s all.”  
“Don’t run yourself down,” Aristotle snapped. “You’re not weird or dull. You’re great. Amazing. Sweet and fun and kind. Sure, you can be eccentric, but I like that, too. Okay, the teddy bear thing’s a bit odd, but I find that I don’t mind it. At all. It’s just a part and parcel of who you are, and I like the whole package.”

Jonah’s eyes filled with tears. “Ari,” he said, laying his head on Aristotle’s broad chest. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Do we have to say anything else? Can’t we just make out a lot instead?” Aristotle asked hopefully. 

A watery giggle. “We could do that,” Jonah agreed. 

Aristotle swept the smaller man up in his arms. “Then let’s get to it,” he said, turning and sitting down on the couch. He settled Jonah on his lap atop him. He pulled Jonah’s face down to his. “Time’s a wastin’!”

 

A long time passed in near silence after that. Just soft moans and groans and slick sucking sounds. Hands roamed, tongues made forays into alien territory. Jonah rubbed himself against Aristotle’s lap, which didn’t do much good for his raging boner. Finally, Jonah lifted his head. “Ari,” he said hoarsely.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think,” Jonah moaned, wriggling and pushing downward, “That I can…hold out much longer…”

“Oh?” Aristotle remarked, grinning evilly. “Do you want something, Jonah?”

A nod. Jonah writhed in his lap. His dick was straining against the front of his jeans. He whimpered miserably. Aristotle took pity on him, and ran his hands down Jonah’s t-shirt to get at the snap and zipper on the front of the jeans. “Ahh,” Aristotle breathed as he got the zipper pulled down, revealing a bulge under the white cotton of Jonah’s briefs. “Look at that! A treat for me!”

Jonah cried out, his head going back, as Aristotle ran his fingers lightly over the straining cock trapped under the briefs. “Please, Ari!” He begged.

Pre-come was staining the white fabric, making it go clear. “Somebody’s eager,” Aristotle crooned, petting the dick which jumped and twitched under his fingers.

“Please,” Jonah said again, desperation clear in his voice.

“Okay, baby. You got it,” Aristotle yanked the jeans down off of Jonah’s hips, along with the briefs. Jonah breathed a sigh of relief as his cock was freed from its prison. Aristotle took a hold of it, looking it over. “So nice,” he remarked. “So pretty. I think I’ll pet it.”

“Ari,” was all Jonah could manage to say, as Aristotle’s long fingers began to stroke his eager cock. 

“You too, Ari,” Jonah said, pushing his hand away. He bent over and scrabbled at the front of Aristotle’s pants, making eager noises as he managed to get them undone. Aristotle just relaxed and let him at it, because this was a scenario he never thought he’d get to see. Jonah Fairfax wild for his cock, desperate to see and feel it. God, he was one lucky bastard! 

Then he couldn’t think much at all, because Jonah managed to get him free of his pants and underwear. His clever fingers freed Aristotle’s dick, pulling it forth like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Jonah moaned at the sight and feel of it, so heavy and hard in his hands. He tightened his fingers on it, stroking and squeezing. Aristotle could feel himself getting close to the edge, but he pushed Jonah gently away. When he got a confused look in return, he only smiled a little and reached down between them to take both of them in hand at the same time. “Like this,” he rasped. “Together.”

Oh, Jonah liked that! His eyes darkened and went languid, and his lips parted. Aristotle couldn’t help but kiss them again, as he began to move his hand up and down their mutual hard-ons at the same time. Pre-come slickened his fingers as he frotted them, and Jonah gave candy-floss moans into his mouth as Aristotle devoured him orally. Jonah’s hands grabbed at his shoulders for balance, and held on tightly as Aristotle found a rhythm that suited them both. The slick sounds filled the room, as Aristotle nipped at Jonah’s lower lip with his teeth. Jonah’s hips rocked, helping Aristotle to rub them together. He swayed over Aristotle, his eyes half-closed, his whole body so lithe and beautiful that Aristotle was entranced. This was what he’d wanted, so very badly. Now he was finally getting it, and he could barely believe it. 

“Oo, Ari, I’m gonna…” Jonah choked out, his body stiffening.

“Me, too. Let’s come together,” Aristotle directed him, tightening his fingers and gripping them both as he stroked up and down extra hard. Once, twice, three times…

Jonah cried out above him, his body stiffening and shuddering, as come burst from the tip of his cock in a fountain. Aristotle followed right after him, his semen splattering their bellies. Both men were caught in the grip of an intense orgasm, pleasure swamping them. 

Jonah half-collapsed against him, breathing heavily. Aristotle held him in the wake of that amazing orgasm, treasuring the feel of that lithe body against his own. He’d loved seeing Jonah come. He wanted to see that many, many times in the future. He knew he’d never get sick of seeing it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari and Jonah have THAT talk, and decide to try dating.

Jonah finally stirred atop him. He pulled away a little, looking down into Ari’s face. “Wow,” he croaked hoarsely.

Ari smiled. “Yeah,” he replied simply, patting Jonah’s thigh. “That was great.”

“I guess we should get cleaned up, huh?” Jonah said, though he made no attempt to actually move off of Aristotle’s lap so they could do so. 

He grinned. “Yeah. But I like this, too,” he said, indicating Jonah’s slim form draped over him.

“Yeah, me too,” Jonah sighed, snuggling closer. “Maybe we could take a shower together or something, though? I don’t like having cum dried all over my belly. It gets so itchy.”

Aristotle laughed. “You have a point,” he said. “And a shower sounds great. I’ll soap your…back…” he said with an exaggerated leer at Jonah.

Jonah giggled. “And I’ll return the favor,” he said with a wicked light in his eyes. 

“Great. Let’s do it,” he surged to his feet, then turned and picked Jonah up bodily once more. 

The smaller man yelped, twining his arms around Aristotle’s neck so he didn’t slip out of his grip. “What are you doing, Ari?” He demanded.

“Carrying you to the shower,” he replied, squeezing Jonah’s ass. “Are you going to complain?” he added, as he started toward the small hallway that led to the bathroom. 

“Ooo, nooo…” Jonah gasped, pressing back into his grip and wriggling happily.

“I thought not,” he said smugly.

 

 

It was a lovely shower, though a bit too long, since the hot water ran out and they had to flee for their lives, gasping at how cold the water raining down on them suddenly was. Laughing, towels wrapped around their waists, they went back into the living room and sprawled out on the couch together. Aristotle, put his arm over Jonah’s bare shoulders, loving the fact that he could do that now.

“Just so we’re clear,” he began. “This does mean that we’re boyfriends now, right? Not just friends with benefits or something?”

Jonah smiled at him. “I don’t do ‘friends with benefits’, Ari,” he replied. “I hate that kind of thing. It’s so impersonal. If I want that kind of impersonal sex, I’ll just go to a club and hook up with some nameless guy. I don’t do that, either. I don’t like casual sex.”

“Okay,” he said, feeling even happier. “I just wanted to know where I stand.”

“Anywhere near me will be good,” Jonah said, snuggling into his side. 

He ran his hand down Jonah’s arm. “So…about sex…” he began hopefully.

Jonah giggled. “Is that all you can think about, Ari?” He teased, nosing into Aristotle’s shoulder.

He gasped a little, and almost lost his train of thought. “Yeah,” he husked. “I’m a guy, you know.”

“Are you saying that I’m not a guy?” Jonah said, giving him a mock-frown.

“No, of course not. If you weren’t a guy, I wouldn’t be attracted to you,” Aristotle pointed out. Are YOU trying to tell me that you don’t think about sex all the time, like any healthy male does?”

“Well…” 

He laughed. “See? I knew it,” he leaned over and kissed Jonah, reveling in the taste of those sweet lips. When they finally parted, Jonah’s brown eyes were dreamy. The sight of them made him instantly hard as a rock. “Man, Jonah,” he groaned, shuddering. “You’re hard on me. I want to take you right here on this couch.”

Jonah did some shuddering of his own. “While I’d like to say, ‘Go ahead, big boy, ravish me,’” he began, “I’m not quite sure that I’m ready just yet. Getting over Josh was so hard…and much as I like you, Ari, I have to get over thinking of you as just a friend. I’m sure that won’t take long, believe me…” he sighed with a crooked, rueful smile. “But could we…like go on a few dates or something? I mean, I know we already go lots of places together, but…”

“It’s not the same as dating,” Aristotle finished for him. “I get it. And yes, we can go on dates. We can go anywhere that you want. We’ll take it at your pace, Jonah, since you’re the one getting over a broken heart. I’m just glad that you want me at all, so I don’t care how long it might take for you to invite me into your bed. Well, maybe I’ll care a little…but that’s just the male hard wiring, you know…”

Jonah nodded. “I know,” he replied simply. “Thank you so much for understanding, Ari You’re such a sweet guy. I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he added, running a finger over Aristotle’s bottom lip idly.  
He sucked that finger into his mouth, and Jonah’s eyes glazed over. A breathy moan sounded out as he licked at it softly. 

“All you had to do was be yourself,” Aristotle told him when he released Jonah’s finger at last. “I’ve been attracted to you since the night I hit you with my car, Jonah. I thought you were adorable, teddy bear costume and all.”

Jonah chuckled. “Really? Even that didn’t put you off?”

“Really. I mean, it was sort of weird, but as we’ve discussed since it’s just a fetish. Lots of people have all kinds of kinks that get them off. I’ve heard of much weirder stuff than wearing a costume in the bedroom. That’s soft core kink, really. Literally,” he added, thinking about the soft fur on the teddy bear costume. 

“Then…you wouldn’t mind if I wear it sometimes…when we’re together?” Jonah asked, looking anxious.

He shook his head. “You wear your costume, and I’ll suck your toes for as long as I want. Even steven. Okay?”

“Okay! I’d love for you to suck my toes!” Jonah cried, brightening.

He shivered a bit. “You’re making this whole thing kind of hard for me, you know,” he groused, smiling to show that he wasn’t serious.

Jonah’s eyes went lidded. “I sure hope so,” he purred. 

 

So that they didn’t both lose their resolve, they got dressed after that. Jonah made dinner, they watched a movie while the cats crawled all over them, and he left. A typical night, except this time he got to kiss Jonah goodbye before he went. And that made it a very special night, indeed.

 

He was on cloud 9 the next day. At work, many of his coworkers noticed his good mood. At noon, David called and asked if he wanted to go to lunch. He agreed, and they met at a chic little bistro to linger over their meals and talk. David’s blue eyes studied him over the tabletop. “Somebody’s happy today,” he said.

Aristotle grinned at him. “Yep.”

“Why, may I ask?”

“The guy I met? The one who wasn’t interested in me? Turns out he was, after all,” he told David.

“Ah. That’s great news, Aristotle. I’m very happy for you,.” David said sincerely.

He pointed a finger at the other man. “See? That’s exactly why I wanted to go out with you in the first place. You’re a great guy, David .I hope you find somebody who makes you as happy as Jonah makes me.”

“I hope so, too,” David agreed. “because if this is what love does to you, sign me up.”

“It’s awesome. I’ve never felt better in my life. If my singing voice didn’t sound like two bullfrogs mating, I’d break into song right here at the table.”

“This from the man who hates musicals,” David teased.

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean I hate love songs, though. Well, not all of them, anyway.”

“So tell me all about this person who has stolen your heart,” David said, and Aristotle spent a pleasant half hour extolling the virtues of his beloved. They parted amicably, and he promised to call David soon so they could hang out again. He and David were becoming good friends. 

 

He called Jonah after work. “Hey, hot stuff,” he said as he got into his Audi. “Can I come and pick you up later? Take you somewhere for our first date?”

“I’d love that, Ari,” Jonah replied happily. “Where did you want to go?”

“I thought I’d let you decide that. Where would you like to go?”

“Anything is good with me. I mean, you and I get to go on a date together - that’s like my wildest dream coming true. Everything else is gravy.”

He chuckled. “Okay. I know this great Thai restaurant. Would you like to try that?”

“Sounds good. Do I have to dress fancy? Because a preschool teacher doesn’t make much money, you know. Don’t have too many fancy clothes.”

“No. Casual will do. Just wear something pretty,” Aristotle teased as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

A laugh. “I’ll try. See you in an hour or so?”

“Will do. I’m driving now; gotta hang up. See you in a bit, precious.”

 

He hung up his phone and tossed it into the passenger’s seat. Humming under his breath, he drove home to get ready for his date. His very first date, with Jonah. His Jonah, now. Man, it felt good to think that! He’d never thought that it would happen. He’d thought that he’d suffer from unrequited love for years to come, until he could somehow get over it and move on. Instead, he got to go out with Jonah, got to be his boyfriend, and hopefully soon, his lover. Life was good. Thank God that Jonah had overheard that confession to Dingus last night! If he hadn’t, who knew how long this misunderstanding would have gone on between them? He’d have to buy some cat treats or a catnip toy or something for Dingus, as a thank you. 

 

At home, he took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of beautifully pleated black slacks and a long-sleeved dark blue shirt. He dabbed on just a bit of cologne, a musky scent that he hoped would drive Jonah wild when he smelled it. Then he spent some time on his hair, wanting it to look just right. Yes, he was primping and preening for his man. Who wouldn’t, when they had a cutie like Jonah Fairfax waiting for them? 

Deciding that he looked good enough, he snagged his wallet off the counter in the kitchen and stuck it in his pocket. Eager as a puppy, he hurried out of his apartment and got in his car. This could be the start of something beautiful, he thought with a grin as he started his car. Something really, really beautiful. 


End file.
